The Beginning of the END
by SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan
Summary: A chance encounter on the day of July 7 X777 changed Natsu forever. Meeting someone who had not been seen for years, thought to be dead to the world, causes Natsu to learn a great deal more than he would have otherwise. With new powers under his belt, and a sword that knows of death and bloodshed like no other, Natsu will take the world by storm.
1. Zeref Dragneel

**Welcome, welcome to another story by yours truly. (Also, yes this is the same opening note for all of my Fairy Tail stories but the ending notes are different).**

 **Firstly, I just have to say Fairy Tail is absolutely awesome at creating strong heroines, I mean you look at most of the main shounen manga and they all have a multitude of weak female characters.  
Even classics like Dragon Ball fell into this after a while, sure they have strong willed characters like Chi-Chi and Bulma, and #18 was a great fighter who had her moments, when she was the strongest during the Android Saga and broke Vegeta's arm for instance, but, eventually it all dissipated.  
It is honestly a little sad, I'm no feminist or anything, but almost every female character in every manga is really weak and it is a little annoying.  
Then you have Fairy Tail with the likes of Erza, Mirajane, Ultear, Kagura, Minerva, Mavis etc. It is really awesome, I mean if Kishimoto took some advice from Mashima maybe Sakura and Hinata wouldn't have been so damn annoying.**

 **In any case, there is a lot to like about Fairy Tail but one of my favourite parts is the E.N.D. plot twist.  
This is a warning for this and all of my other Fairy Tail stories, all of them will play off the knowledge of E.N.D. Some almost straight from the beginning and some halfway through the story, the point I'm trying to make is if you don't know who E.N.D. is and don't want to be spoiled, don't read my Fairy Tail stories until you do.**

 **With that said, on with the story.  
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.**

Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Fairy Tail anime/manga all I own are my original characters and plot twists.

'Talking'

"Thinking"

*expression*

 _Flashback_  
 _  
_' **Dragon talking'**

" **Dragon thinking"**

 **Techniques**

Chapter 1 – Zeref Dragneel

'Igneel! Where are you?' Shouted a small pink haired boy, clad only in a pair of tan shorts.

The small child, who appeared to be about ten years of age, was currently running through a dense forest looking for his father.

Suddenly, a strong wind pressed down on Natsu, which caused him to look up in happiness.

'Igneel!' Shouted Natsu joyfully.

 **'What's with all the yelling Natsu, I told you I was just getting dinner?' Questioned the red scaled dragon, as he slowly descended in front of Natsu, being mindful to avoid knocking down any nearby trees, multiple beasts held within his right claw.**

'I got bored so I came looking for you.' Declared Natsu happily, as he rushed to his father who easily dwarfed him in size.

 **'Hmph, well come on then, let's head back, the sun is starting to set.' Said Igneel, as he lowered his head to allow Natsu to climb up on top of it.**

Natsu clambered atop the head of his father and raised his hands in excitement, as he started to rise in the air.

'Hey Igneel, are you sure you can't ever teach me how to fly?' Questioned Natsu, as they soared across the tree-line.

 **'Unless you suddenly grow wings out of your back, then yes.' Answered a bemused Igneel.**

'Aw man, just imagine how cool it would be.' Said Natsu dreamily.

 **'I don't need to imagine it, I can.' Guffawed Igneel in amusement.**

'Whatever, you'll see one day, I'll be able to fly.' Retorted Natsu childishly.

Igneel merely smiled at Natsu's behaviour, before a small frown took form on his face.

 **"Natsu, I truly hope you will be alright after tomorrow." Thought Igneel ominously, as the duo landed outside their cave.**

'Alright Igneel, let's do this, dinner time!' Shouted Natsu excitedly.

 **'Alright already, clam down.' Said Igneel, as he launched a stream of fire at the multitude of beasts he caught.**

As the fire slowly cooked them, Igneel noticed the flames were disappearing.

 **'Natsu! What have I told you about eating the flames we use for cooking?' Thundered Igneel.**

'Uh oops, wait until the food is cooked first.' Replied Natsu with a sheepish grin.

Igneel huffed in acceptance before breathing more fire, resuming the cooking of the beasts.

 **'Hmm Natsu, have you ever aspired to be something?' Questioned Igneel, getting a confused look from Natsu, who momentarily looked away from their slow cooking food.**

Igneel's deep rumbling laugh escaped his jaws before he rephrased his question.

 **'What do you want to be when you grow up, Natsu?' Reiterated Igneel.**

'I want to be really strong, like you Igneel!' Shouted Natsu cheerfully.

 **'What for? Is there a reason you want to be so strong Natsu?' Asked Igneel curiously, as he eyed their food momentarily, noticing it was almost ready.**

'Hmm, well, I guess I want to be strong because I want be like you. No one would dare try to fight a dragon and you're the strongest dragon I know.' Said Natsu thoughtfully.

 **'I'm also the only dragon you know.' Retorted Igneel bluntly.**

'What's with the weird questions Igneel and isn't the food ready yet?' Questioned Natsu as he started to drool.

Igneel laughed before nodding, which caused Natsu to cheer, as he sucked up the flames surrounding the beasts.

'Ah that was great, time to eat!' Cheered Natsu.

Igneel smiled fondly, as his adopted son started to tear into his food with gusto.

 **"Natsu, I hope that you find a goal worth striving for… after tonight, I hope you will do well... without me around." Thought Igneel sadly, before eating his share of food.**

Once Natsu finished his food, he dropped to the floor and fell asleep, causing Igneel to chuckle. Igneel picked up Natsu in his claw and carried him into their cave, before curling up around him. Natsu snuggled deeper into Igneel's chest, before sighing contently.

 **'Make me proud, Natsu.' Whispered Igneel as he closed his eyes, not knowing that tomorrow, Natsu's life would be changed forever.**

 _-line break-_

As Natsu awoke, he yawned deeply and stretched his arms up over his head. Natsu blearily rubbed his eyes and noticed a long, white scarf with a scale pattern, laid out on the floor next to him. Natsu picked up the scarf and examined it carefully, before wrapping it around his neck.

Natsu, upon exiting the cave, sniffed around hoping to find Igneel's scent, but found that the trail seemed to end back in the cave.

'Igneel! Where are you?' Shouted Natsu, before he started to wander around the area hoping to find his adoptive father.

After many hours of fruitless search, Natsu found his way back to the cave. Natsu crossed his legs as he sat down and planted his elbows on his knees, as his hands cradled his head.

'Where did Igneel go?' Muttered Natsu quietly with a frown.

Natsu heard some rustling to his left and eagerly jumped up in excitement, but instead of a dragon, he saw a man. The man appeared young and was clad in high-collared red and tan robes with gold trim, along with a large, flowing white toga, draped around his torso. He also had short black hair and dark eyes.

'N-Natsu?' Gasped the man.

'Huh, how do you know my name mister, did Igneel send you, do you know where he is?' Asked Natsu curiously, as he stepped closer to the man.

The man seemed to panic at this and took a step back, seemingly in fear.

'What's wrong mister, you look like you've seen a ghost?' Questioned Natsu in curiosity.

'Natsu what are you doing here?' Asked the man, regaining his bearings momentarily.

'What do you mean? This is where I train with Igneel all the time… where am I supposed to be?' Questioned Natsu in confusion.

'I need to go, it isn't time yet.' Said Zeref calmly, as he turned around.

'Wait, mister hold on!' Shouted Natsu, as he ran after him.

'No, wait, stop, stay back!' Cried the man in fear, as a wave of black energy surged around him.

Natsu, undeterred, continued on, even when a burst of black energy exploded from the person and enveloped him.

The man dropped to his knees in shock and gasped.

'No Natsu… what have I done?' Questioned the man, as he cradled his head in sadness.

'Huh what do you mean, you didn't do anything?' Questioned a childlike voice, surprising the man.

'N-Natsu, you're okay.' Intoned the man in awe, as he gazed upon the unharmed Natsu.

'Yeah why, was that supposed to do something?' Asked Natsu curiously.

The man glanced at the person before him. He was alive. He was unharmed. The man started to tear up slightly.

'Oi, oi mister what's wrong?' Questioned Natsu worriedly.

'It's nothing, I'm fine.' Said the man.

'Ok… say what's you name anyway, you know my name is Natsu, so what's yours?' Asked Natsu.

The man looked at Natsu and seemed to be thinking deeply upon something, before a small smile spread across his face.

'Zeref, my name, is Zeref.' Said the black haired man.

'Alright then, Mister Zeref, have you seen a big red dragon anywhere around here?' Asked Natsu eagerly.

'Just Zeref is fine, and no I haven't, sorry.' Said Zeref, noticing Natsu's downcast expression.

'I just don't know why Igneel left, was it something I said, didn't he like how I told him I want to be strong and learn how to fly… was it because I kept eating his cooking flames?' Questioned Natsu sadly.

Zeref smiled at this, before squatting down so he could look Natsu in the eye.

'I'm sure that wasn't it. You said he was a dragon, right? Maybe he had to go off and do special dragon stuff?' Suggested Zeref.

'Hmm maybe, although he could have at least told me, I mean when I woke up he wasn't even there, just this white… what the… what happened to my scarf, I was sure it was white in the morning but now it's black!' Exclaimed Natsu in shock.

Zeref stared at the scarf intensely.

"That must have been what stopped my magic, but will it work next time?" Thought Zeref ominously.

'Well I'm sure you'll find him someday, but I need to go now.' Said Zeref, as he stood up and turned to walk away.

'W-wait, can't you stay with me for a bit… Igneel never got around to telling me how to do things outside of the forest so I'm pretty lost.' Said Natsu timidly.

Zeref wanted to leave, very much so, but he couldn't leave Natsu alone to fend for himself. Zeref sighed before walking back to Natsu.

'Okay, I'll stay with you for now, until you are ready, however, there will come a time when I need to leave, is that okay with you?' Questioned Zeref.

'Sure no problem, big brother Zeref.' Said Natsu cheerily, shocking Zeref.

'B-big b-brother.' Gasped Zeref in shock.

'Well yeah, I mean, you aren't old like Igneel so I can't call you dad, besides you look just like me, we even have the same teeth, see, that makes you my brother, isn't that okay?' Questioned Natsu happily, as he gestured to his smile.

Zeref smiled softly, before walking over to Natsu.

'I see. In that case you're my little brother, Natsu Dragneel.' Said Zeref with a smile, showing of his fangs.

'Whoa, how did you know my last name as well?' Asked Natsu in awe.

'Well if we are brothers, then it is only right we have the same last name right, you are Natsu Dragneel, brother of Zeref Dragneel. Is that okay?' Questioned Zeref, only to have Natsu tackle him with a hug, his arms encircling Zeref's waist, as his head slammed into Zeref's stomach.

'That's awesome, you're the best big brother.' Cried Natsu, as he hugged Zeref and shed tears of joy.

'Alright, if that's the case, I'll help you get stronger and maybe, teach you how to fly if I can.' Said Zeref, as he gently patted Natsu on the back of his head.

'No way! Can you really teach me how?' Asked Natsu with stars in his eyes.

'In time, we have to build up to that first.' Said Zeref with a smile at Natsu's exuberance.

'All right then, let's get started.' Shouted Natsu, as he broke the hug and jumped back, before pumping a fist in the air.

 _-line break-_

Zeref and Natsu spent a great deal of time together in the following days. Zeref was initially fearful, but after a second explosion of energy, once again, failed to cause any harm to Natsu, he became much friendlier, even carrying Natsu on his shoulders sometimes. Natsu was excited to show Zeref all of his attacks and lamented how his attacks weren't as big as Igneel's, however, after Zeref promised to teach Natsu some new and powerful magic Natsu got over it quickly.

'Now Natsu, what I'm about to teach you about isn't really magic.' Begun Zeref.

'Aw why not, you said you'd teach me something really cool and powerful?' Whined Natsu.

'It is, as I was saying it isn't really magic, but it is like it, it is called Curse.' Explained Zeref.

'That doesn't sound like a good thing.' Commented Natsu with a frown.

'Oh and Dragon Slaying magic sounds good? Do you kill dragons?' Teased Zeref.

'But that's different.' Replied Natsu, getting Zeref to smile.

'If you say so, Natsu.' Said Zeref amicably.

'But why call it a Curse, why not a Blessing or something?' Questioned Natsu curiously.

'Well, someone once told me that they are called Curses because anyone who becomes an enemy of the user, will be cursed if they face them.' Said Zeref fondly, as he gazed at Natsu.

'Wow that sounds so cool, who told you that?' Said Natsu in awe.

'Oh, don't worry about that, it was just a friend of mine, you would have liked him; he was a lot like you.' Said Zeref with a smile.

'Was?' Queried Natsu hesitantly.

'Hmm, yes. Some things happened to him and he changed a lot, sometimes I wonder if I will ever see him again, I hope that one day I will.' Said Zeref sadly.

'Who was he?' Asked Natsu in a subdued manner.

'My brother.' Replied Zeref with a sad smile.

Natsu frowned at this and lowered his head.

'Ne, Zeref, is it alright for you to call me your little brother if you already have one? I mean I wouldn't want to call someone else dad, even if Igneel isn't here anymore.' Asked Natsu sadly.

'*sigh* I see… don't worry about that Natsu. My brother would have loved you, in fact he is so much like you it is scary, but I know… I know, that he would want this.' Said Zeref with a small smile.

'He sounds like a great person.' Said Natsu happily.

"He is." Thought Zeref, as he merely nodded to Natsu's comment.

 _-line break-_

After months of training, Natsu had gained a solid foundation in the usage of Curses and gained a good understanding on various types of magic, as well as heard lots of stories of Zeref's past, the good ones at least. Before either of the two knew it, it was a new year: X778.

'*sigh* Natsu, I'm afraid I need to leave now.' Said Zeref sadly, as he gazed upon the figure of his companion.

Natsu was now garbed in a red, long sleeve shirt with black trim and dark yellow shorts with brown trim and simple brown shoes.

'Aw really, can't you stay a bit longer?' Complained Natsu. Natsu had now grown so that he could stand comfortably next to Zeref, his head now reaching the tips of Zeref's floating ribs.

'Sorry Natsu, but I really can't stay anymore, however, I have a gift for you.' Said Zeref, as a black wave of energy appeared around his hands, before beginning to take shape.

Once the energy had solidified, Natsu gasped at what was revealed: an ominous looking katana. The blade was covered by a completely black sheath and the handle and guard themselves were also a solid black, with only three red diamonds decorating the hilt. The guard was an odd twelve pointed star and each tip seemed to glow with energy. Natsu could not see the blade however, as Zeref had not unsheathed it.

'Now Natsu this blade, is my gift to you… it was my brother's… but I know he would want you to have it, however, there is a rule that comes with this blade.' Said Zeref sternly, as he held the sword out for Natsu to take.

Natsu grasped the weapon, however Zeref didn't let go of the blade.

'You must only draw this sword in two scenarios, you must not draw it at any other time. The first scenario, is when someone is completely irredeemable, when a person has lost all that they once knew to be good and acts only in evil. The second scenario will usually be met along with the first, usually, however, the second scenario, is when someone has single-mindedly decided that they will try to hurt, destroy, or kill that which is close to you. If either of these two scenarios is met, you may draw this blade and strike them down, however, know that once a life has been taken, it… can't be undone, for this reason, use this blade only when you are sure that there is no other option.' Said Zeref, before letting Natsu take the sword.

Natsu gazed at the blade in reverence for a moment, before looking up at Zeref's expectant gaze.

'I promise.' Said Natsu firmly.

Zeref smiled at this, before walking away from Natsu.

'I'll make you proud big brother Zeref!' Shouted Natsu to Zeref's retreating form.

Zeref continued walking, but Natsu knew he had heard him.

'One last thing Natsu.' Said Zeref, as he continued walking away.

'It would make me happy if you could make some friends, they don't have to be plentiful, but make sure they are true friends, friends you can count on. I believe that if you find the guild named Fairy Tail, you will be able to make lots of friends.' Said Zeref, before his form started to fade away into the woods.

'Fairy Tail? Little Mavis' guild? Okay then.' Said Natsu, before heading off in the opposite direction of Zeref's now barely visible form.

"Make me proud, E.N.D., no, rather, make me proud Natsu Dragneel, my little brother." Thought Zeref with a smile.

 _-line break-_

After separating from Zeref, Natsu had started to trudge east, using his nose to sniff out the nearest human scents he could locate. After walking for what felt like ages to Natsu, but was really only an hour, Natsu picked up on a scent.

'Finally.' Whispered Natsu to himself.

As he neared the scent though, Natsu smelt two new scents. Natsu found it slightly odd that one scent would be so far removed from, what Natsu was guessing, were possible friends or family, but a sharp, shrill scream of fear, caused Natsu to rush towards the first scent he picked up on.

'Come on now girlie, just give us everything you've got and no one needs to get hurt.' Said a scruffy, well-built man, wearing a long and ragged black robe.

'I'd do what he says, he gets pretty violent when people refuse him.' Commented the man's partner with a sneer, as he carelessly waved a large axe around.

The two men were harassing a little girl, holding a small basket of various fruits. The basket itself was worn, as was the clothing worn by the girl. Her frightened hazel eyes darted around her anxiously.

'Pathetic.' Said a new voice, causing the three to look around for the new voice.

'Who said that, show yourself?' Demanded the axe wielding bandit.

'You two, are simply pathetic.' Said Natsu, as he exited the tree line and entered the small clearing, where the mugging was taking place.

'Heh, you've got guts kid, too bad I'm going to have to cut them out of you.' Said the axe wielding bandit.

'Although, if you leave that sword behind, we may just let you get away with only a missing arm.' Added the other bandit.

The dark haired girl merely looked on in fear at the confrontation, as the boy grasped the sword he had crudely fastened to his waist with some vines.

'This sword… you dare make light of the blade my brother gave me. The blade that his brother once wielded.' Said Natsu darkly.

'Well kid, you either give us the sword or we will take it from you.' Said the axe wielding bandit.

'Before that, let me ask you, are you doing this out of poverty? Do you need food or money so desperately that you would bully a little child?' Asked Natsu calmly.

'Feh, he thinks we are poor. HAHAHA you crack me up kid, we are bandits, part of the most bloodthirsty group around this area.' Begun the unarmed bandit before Natsu cut him off.

'So you do this because you can? Try to intimidate and steal from innocent people. Have no remorse for human life… yes, if that is the case, then I will draw this sword. I would not draw this if you were merely poor, but you two, are too far gone at this stage.' Spoke Natsu quietly.

'Hey punk, give us the sword now before we mess your ugly face up.' Said the unarmed bandit, as he marched over to Natsu and went to punch him in the face, only to cry out in pain as his arm was suddenly severed from his body, shocking both the little girl and the bandit's partner.

The now one armed bandit only had a moment to cry out in agony, before his head dropped from his shoulders.

'Truly pathetic, I don't even know the first thing about using a sword, but he was too slow to dodge even basic slashes. Pitiful.' Said Natsu, as he flicked the blood on his blade to the ground.

The remaining bandit looked at Natsu in fear, before roughly grabbing the girl near him and holding the axe near her face.

'Stay there kid, or the girl gets it!' Shouted the bandit, clearly panicking.

'You would take an innocent hostage to try and save your wretched life? You are even more irredeemable than I thought, **Macro**.' Said Natsu, as the bandit suddenly stiffened.

'Now gently place the girl down and walk over to your downed comrade, then, take your head off with you own weapon.' Said Natsu, as he walked towards the duo.

The bandit dropped the frightened girl who froze, unsure whether to run away or stay. True the bandits were scary, but this boy was just as scary, to kill someone so easily and somehow control another person was frightening. As the bandit walked towards his fellow bandit, Natsu himself stood in-between the girl and the controlled bandit.

Natsu squatted down in front of the girl and gave her a small smile.

'I'm sorry you had to see that.' Said Natsu, as he blocked the girl from seeing the other bandit kill himself.

'Y-you killed him, and made the other one kill himself.' Stuttered the girl nervously.

'I'm sorry, this was the first time I killed someone and I didn't enjoy it, but I couldn't let them hurt someone innocent like you, especially when those two had lost all respect for life.' Explained Natsu.

'B-but you killed them.' Said the girl still in shock.

'And now they won't be able to kill you, or anyone else, ever again. I didn't want to kill them you know, I'm not evil. I even promised my brother that I wouldn't unsheathe this blade, unless at least one, of either two conditions were met.' Said Natsu.

'What c-conditions?' Asked the girl, trying to distract herself from what she had just witnessed.

'The first is when someone is completely irredeemable, when a person has lost all that they once knew to be good and acts only in evil. The second is when someone has single-mindedly decided that they will try to hurt, destroy or kill that which is important to me. Those two were completely irredeemable, if they were simply poor or hungry, I would have only knocked them out… but to pick on innocent people for enjoyment; that warrants their death.' Answered Natsu honestly.

The girl took a deep breath before steadying herself.

'Thank you.' Said the girl, as she stood up and picked up her basket again.

'It is alright, you didn't deserve that anyway, I'm just glad I got here in time.' Said Natsu, as he stood up next to the girl, who was only slightly shorter than him.

'Would you like me to accompany you to wherever it is you are going? I mean I know we just met and everything, but I'd like to make sure you're safe before I head off again.' Offered Natsu.

'Thank you, I would appreciate that Mr…' Said the girl before trailing off, as she didn't know the name of her saviour.

'Oh I'm sorry, I guess I never introduced myself, I'm Natsu Dragneel.' Said Natsu with a toothy grin.

'Then thank you Mr. Natsu.' Said the girl before Natsu cut her off.

'Mr. really? I'm probably only a year or two older than you, just call me Natsu.' Said Natsu.

'Ok then, Natsu.' Said the girl with a small smile.

'What about you, what's your name?' Asked Natsu curiously.

'I'm Kagura Mikazuchi, nice to meet you Natsu.' Said the newly revealed Kagura.

'Nice to meet you too, Kagura.' Said Natsu with a grin.

 **In a similar manner as I have with my other stories I will explain about the pairing. This story is unique however, in that it will be a multi-pairing story from the beginning, however, I have already decided who will be in it without exception.**

 **As you can see from the tag, this story will be Natsu/Erza/Kagura/Ikaruga. This is non-negotiable and will be the, Alpha and the Omega, or, in other words, the be-all, and end-all as far as the pairing is concerned…however… I may, just may, be swayed to add Ultear as well if enough people ask for it… but only her. This is only because my plans for Natsu could incorporate Ultear as well, but only her.  
If you are curious, yes Erza is the main… technically… well I suppose you could consider it a co-main along with Kagura since both will be fairly prominent. I say Erza would technically be the main because Natsu will be involved with Fairy Tail more as the story goes on, however if you've read any of my other harem stories you will see that every member of the harem gets an equal amount of plot, character development and "screen time". That being said though, most of the start will revolve around Natsu/Erza and Natsu/Kagura for a while until I get to expand and bring Ikaruga in.**

 **This is Natsu/Erza/Ikaruga/Kagura and possibly Ultear if a lot of you ask for it and that is final.**


	2. Scum

**Firstly, a huge thank you for the massive, overwhelming positive response. It is thanks to the amazing response you all gave me; that I put up A Jade Princess' Dragon.  
Secondly, some of you guys are absolute savages… I mean, it hasn't even been a week and I've been getting multiple PMs, asking me if I've abandoned my stories. I was gobsmacked. I've put up an update, every day, for the past 10 days or so, across my stories, and you guys are asking for more…**

 **One the one hand, I'm extremely flattered, on the other hand, you guys are going to want to lynch me when I go back to Uni, and my updates drop back down to once a month instead of every day. That's one update, total, each month, not per story…**

 **That being said though, I'm still on break for another two weeks, so the updates aren't stopping yet.**

 **Now, onto business, literally and I do mean literally, I'm not mistaking it for figuratively, everyone who commented on the pairing, wants Ultear in the harem… so, you guessed it, she is in and this is now Natsu/Erza/Kagura/Ikaruga/Ultear.**

 **That being said, my other stories have had somewhat mixed responses, as far as harems go. Some are weighted heavily for, and some are actually against the harem. To rectify this, next chapter, for each of my stories I will put up a poll.**

 **The system will be as follows (but I will repeat myself again in each new chapter): I will place all possible harem candidates, which I've chosen, into a poll, in addition to my main pairing. The system will work, on the basis of the votes, for the main pairing character. Take, A Demon's Rebirth for example: Erza, Lisanna, Cana, Ultear, Minerva and Sayla are all possible harem choices. The poll will have all of them in it PLUS Mirajane, the main pairing for the story.**

 **Now, the way the pairing will be decided, will be based on how many votes the others get, in comparison to Mira.**

 **For example, if Mira has the most votes, the story will remain a single pairing.**

 **If only Lisanna has more votes than Mira, it will become a Natsu/Mira/Lisanna.**

 **What this means, is that those who want the story to remain a single pairing; should just vote for Mira.  
You will have the option to vote for up to six people in this example, but if you want a single pairing, just vote for Mira.  
Alternatively, if you want the full harem, cast all your votes for the others and none for Mira.**

 **Now, here is where the final option comes in; if you want this story to become a Natsu/Mira/Erza, but don't want anyone else, vote for both Mira and Erza, as this increases not only Erza's numbers, increasing her odds of getting in, but also gives Mira more votes, to make sure none of the others can catch up to her, aside from Erza.**

 **Doing this however, does have risks, as if a lot of people vote for Mira only, the equal vote between her and Erza, won't be enough, however, the alternatively also exists, that many people just vote for Erza and not Mira, in which case, the vote for Erza and Mira, increases the chances of it being just them.  
In any case, there is a lot of gambling going on here, so I encourage you to vote only for those you truly want, and feel would suit the story best.  
Since this particular story in question, is a Natsu/Mira story primarily, I imagine most of you want Mira, or else, why would you read it? However, as for the others, you need to weigh your chances, for this reason, I will keep the poll results hidden, so you are all forced to choose honestly.**

 **My system for each poll, will be, to put it up along with an update for that story, then, when I update a different FT story, switch the poll out, with the poll for the newly updated story. What this means, is that when I update A Third Chance, there will be a poll for the harem for A Third Chance up, however, when I update Wheel of Fortune, I will switch the poll for A Third Chance, with the one for Wheel of Fortune. I will continue doing this until I reach chapter 5 for each respective story, as by that time, I believe everyone should have had ample time to vote.**

 **Ok, extremely long note out of the way with now. Also, I'm not too sure which story I will update next, it could be DxD, Bleach, or one of my Naruto stories, I'm undecided… however, my money is on, either Heart of a Dragon, or Naruto Guardian of the Mist.**

 **Also, before anyone starts to get upset over how Natsu is apparently so skilled with a blade despite having no training whatsoever, I urge you to think of the title of the story and take notice of Natsu's attitude throughout this chapter and the last, and how it changes. I thought I was going to get up to the explanation for it this chapter, but it didn't feel right, so I'll explain it next chapter instead.**

 **Now, on with the chapter!  
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.  
**

Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Fairy Tail anime/manga. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.

'Talking'

"Thinking"

*expression*

 _Flashback_  
 _  
_' **Dragon talking'**

" **Dragon thinking"**

 **Techniques**

Chapter 2 – Scum

Natsu and Kagura walked, in a slightly uncomfortable silence. Before the duo had left, Natsu had saw fit to incinerate the bodies of the two bandits, so no one would find them and come after Natsu, or, even worse, Kagura herself.  
The smell of charred flesh still lingered in Kagura's memories, causing her to be somewhat fearful of the boy beside her, despite the fact that he had saved her life and was, for all intents and purposes, protecting her interests as well. Retribution by other bandits, was not something Kagura desired.

Natsu on the other hand, was trying to figure out what had come over him when he started using his sword. He fully agreed with the killing of the two bandits, it fit Zeref's requirements perfectly and Natsu himself felt that it was a necessary evil. However, Natsu had felt something when he used his sword, something ancient… and dark.

"It kind of reminded me of Zeref… the feeling of all-encompassing death… which was really weird, since Zeref never killed a single thing the whole time we were together." Thought Natsu, brow furrowed in confusion, as he pondered the strange sensation he had felt.

The duo kept walking for a little, before finally breaking out of the dense foliage that had enveloped them, and arrived near a dirt path, leading towards a small village.

'Hmm, so I guess that's your village then.' Said Natsu, as he peered at the largely wooden village curiously.

'Well, yes… and no, I guess.' Answered Kagura, somewhat bashfully.

'Hmm, what do you mean?' Asked Natsu, as he gestured for them to walk, which Kagura obliged.

'Well, the truth is, I fled to this village, when the one I grew up in, was attacked and razed to the ground.' Said Kagura sadly, getting Natsu to pause momentarily in his walking.

'What do you mean? Who, or why would anyone do something like that?' Asked Natsu in shock.

'Well, I was young at the time, but I remember them saying about them being worshippers of Zeref, and that they needed people to help build paradise.' Recalled Kagura, as she stopped slightly in front of Natsu.

'Zeref.' Whispered Natsu in disbelief.

'Yeah, they said something about reviving him and helping him usher in paradise… but… when some of us refused, they started killing us.' Said Kagura.

Natsu growled at this, getting Kagura to look at him in surprise.

'Zeref… Bastards.' Said Natsu, as he unknowingly gripped his sword.

'I didn't know what to do at the time. I was running around the village, trying to find my brother, before I heard some of them approaching me. I froze and didn't know what to do, but a small red-haired girl, maybe a year or two older than me, quickly grabbed my hand and hid me in a small box. I hid there until the noise had died down, and when I got out… everyone was gone, and the village was in ruins.' Said Kagura, as she started to cry.

'*sniff* What's worse, *sob* is that I never found my brother, *sniff* or the girl who saved me.' Cried Kagura.

Natsu's anger dissipated at this, and pity replaced it. Natsu closed the distance between the two of them, and gave Kagura a hug, holding her close to his chest, and rested his head atop hers.

'It'll be okay, everything will be okay.' Soothed Natsu, as he gently brushed her dark purple hair.

Kagura didn't respond and merely sobbed into Natsu's red shirt.

'You know, I never knew my parents, or any of my family.' Said Natsu, getting Kagura to pull her head back and wipe her eyes, before looking up at him.

'How come?' Asked Kagura shakily.

'Well, I don't know how exactly… my earliest memories were of me wandering the forest and crying a lot.' Said Natsu, as he scrunched up his face in thought.

'I'd say I was maybe three years old when I was found by someone, but I can't be sure.' Continued Natsu.

'Who was it?' Asked Kagura curiously, momentarily forgetting about her own pain.

'The King of the Fire Dragons: Igneel.' Said Natsu, to which Kagura giggled.

'Dragon's aren't real.' Said Kagura.

'Hmm, what makes you so sure of that?' Asked Natsu curiously.

'Because… no one has ever seen a dragon before.' Replied Kagura simply.

'Oi, I just said I was found by a dragon, am I no one?' Asked Natsu indignantly.

Kagura blinked at this and thought about it for a moment.

'Ok, let's say they are real, prove it.' Challenged Kagura.

'Ok then, **Fire Dragon's Roar**.' Said Natsu, as he turned away from Kagura, and launched a wave of fire from his mouth.

Kagura winced slightly, remember the burnt bandits, before noticing Natsu was looking at her again.

'See, that was Fire Dragon Slaying Magic, magic that can only be taught to someone by a dragon. Is that enough proof for you?' Teased Natsu.

'Ok, that was pretty cool… ok, so maybe I believe you then, what happened to the dragon?' Asked Kagura curiously, noticing Natsu seemed to be upset by the question.

'I'm not too sure myself.' Said Natsu sourly.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad.' Said Kagura.

'Nah, it's fine, you didn't know, besides, I'm the only telling the story after all.' Said Natsu with a small smile, but even Kagura, with her childlike naivety, could tell it was somewhat forced.

'Well, from the beginning, after Igneel found me, he started to teach me his magic. It was a little hard at the start, but Igneel said I was a fast learner.' Continued Natsu, his smile becoming less forced.

'We would do all sorts of cool things, but the best, was when Igneel flew me on his back. I always wanted to fly because it was so cool. Flying through the air on Igneel's back was awesome, but I mean, how cool would it be if I could fly? Like, just grow wings and fly like a dragon.' Said Natsu excitedly, which caused Kagura to giggle.

'But you can't fly, you're human and Igneel is a dragon.' Said Kagura.

'Aha! So you do believe me about Igneel!' Exclaimed Natsu cheerfully.

'Well, I don't think you would lie about something like that. Plus, the way you are talking about him, sounds like how I talk about my brother and you believed me about him.' Said Kagura with a sad smile.

'Kagura, I promise you, I'll find you brother for you, and when I do, I'll bring him right to you.' Declared Natsu, shocking Kagura.

'B-but why?' Asked Kagura in surprise.

'Well, you're my first friend and friends make each other happy.' Said Natsu simply, as he gave a toothy grin.

With that statement, all of Kagura's previous misgivings and nagging thoughts about the bandits, disappeared from her mind. Natsu was her friend. She was his first friend.

Kagura smiled at Natsu.

'Thank you Natsu, and I'll gladly be your friend.' Said Kagura happily, getting Natsu's grin to widen.

'Alright-y then, let's get you back to your village now.' Said Natsu cheerfully, as he started to walk once again, passing Kagura.

"Friend." Thought Kagura simply, before following after Natsu.

 _-line break-_

From a distance away, a small imp-like creature jumped down from a tree and rushed towards a man with black hair; who was wearing a high collared robe and a toga, sitting near the edge of a lake, seemingly waiting for someone.

The dark skinned creature, wearing a crown of leaves, quickly climbed up the black haired man's arm and squeaked a little.

'I see, thank you Obra.' Said Zeref, as he stood up, the imp-like creature still clinging to his shoulder.

"Well Natsu, with this, I really will leave you on your own for now. I just hope you can enjoy your life… this time, although, I'm glad you've made a friend already." Thought Zeref, before frowning.

"Worshippers of Zeref… it seems that even without me doing anything, I cause people to suffer and die." Thought Zeref grimly.

"I will go and hide myself… hopefully, in time, people will forget about me and the world will come to find peace once more… although, Natsu, I just hope… that when the time comes… you will end my suffering, once and for all." Thought Zeref sadly, before heading off, hoping to hide himself from the world.

"Good luck, little brother." Thought Zeref, before he disappeared from the small grove.

 _-line break-_

'Wow! So this is your village.' Commented Natsu in awe, as he looked around eagerly.

Multiple houses were made out of wood. Small wooden stands were set up sporadically around the village, with people trying to sell their wares. A small stone well was in the middle of the village, around which, children were currently running and playing around. There were also large evergreen trees, interspaced around the village every dozen metres or so.

'Yeah. I imagine it can't compare to a forest or a mountain, but it is nice in its own way.' Said Kagura, as she led him along the dusty path, to a small house.

'This is the orphanage and it is also were I live.' Said Kagura, before moving on.

'Over there is the bakery and next to it is the general store.' Said Kagura, pointing out two wooden buildings standing side-by-side.

They were identical in design, a wooden door and two windows, only the bakery, also had a chimney, out of which, smoke was currently wafting.

Natsu looked down at this, remembering he had no money, something Zeref told him people use to buy things, such as food and clothes.

'Eh, that's nice, but I don't really have any money.' Said Natsu weakly.

'Oh, I guess you weren't lying about being raised by a dragon… I don't think a dragon would need any money.' Commented Kagura.

'Yeah, Igneel would just go out and grab some beasts from the forest for food, as for my clothes, I'm not even sure where they came from. I've always had these shorts, but I can't remember where, or when, I got my shirt, or shoes from, the scarf though… I just woke up with it next to me one day.' Confessed Natsu.

'Hmm, well, I'm sure there are some odd jobs you could do for people around the village, in exchange for things.' Said Kagura thoughtfully, before a commotion was heard near the entrance of the village.

Natsu and Kagura looked over and Kagura's eyes widened in worry. It was bandits.

'Alright you little miscreants! We want to know what happened to the two scouts we sent to your village!' Shouted a scruffy looking bandit, with four more behind him on either side.

'B-but we don't know anything.' Said a young woman, with long brown hair and brown eyes, clad in a simple yellow sundress, that reached down to her knees, before the head bandit walked up to her, and gave her a vicious backhand, sending her crashing to the ground.

'And I say you are lying. Until someone tells us where they are, we are just going to stay here and wait.' Said the head bandit.

'Natsu, wait, what are you doing?' Whispered Kagura, as she saw Natsu begin to walk towards the bandits, and quickly grabbed his arm.

'I'm the one who started this mess, so I'll be the one to deal with it.' Said Natsu firmly, before he shook off Kagura's hand, and continued walking towards the bandits.

'For every five minutes that someone doesn't tell us where they are, I will smash someone's house in.' Threatened the head bandit, before noticing a small pink haired boy walk up to him.

'Huh, what are you doing here punk? Get lost!' Shouted the bandit.

'You are asking about your scouts, aren't you?' Questioned Natsu, as some of the villagers looked at him in fear and worry.

'Yeah, I am. What, do you know where they are, huh kid?' Questioned the bandit mockingly.

'I do.' Said Natsu simply.

'Well terrific! Now, tell me where they are, before I wring your little neck!' Shouted the bandit.

'They are ashes in the wind, just like you're going to be.' Said Natsu, getting the bandits to laugh.

'Hahaha, look kid; that was funny and all, trying to be a tough guy, but scram before we hurt you.' Said one of the four bandits, standing behind the leader, as he approached Natsu, before his laughter abruptly stopped, a blade wedged into his gut which was quickly raised, severing his heart in two, causing him to drop to the ground.

As the life bled from the bandits eyes, he looked into Natsu's and only saw two pools of uncaring darkness.

"Ruthless." Thought the bandit before he died.

The villagers gasped in fear and shock, while the bandits looked at Natsu in disbelief, which quickly turned to rage.

'You little shit! Get him! Kill him!' Shouted the head bandit, as he and the other three remaining bandits charged at Natsu.

Natsu expertly weaved and ducked under their physical assaults, only the head bandit possessing a weapon, in the form of a small, studded, steel club, about the length of his forearm. Natsu suddenly activated another of his Curses and started to spin rapidly, before sliding around the bandits, confusing them.

One of the bandits charged at Natsu, aiming to kick the young boy in the head. Natsu jumped, avoiding the kick, before stabbing the man in the back, with a right handed thrust, which he quickly followed up, with a flaming fist to the back of his head, causing him to pass out from the pain. He would die soon enough if he received no treatment, as he was bleeding heavily from his back. Natsu had struck him in his spleen, which was haemorrhaging blood at an alarming rate.

'Shit! The kid must be a mage boss, this is bad!' Shouted one of the bandits fearfully.

'Shut it you wimp! Fight him, or I'll kill you myself!' Shouted the head bandit.

Natsu frowned at this, before rushing the head bandit. Natsu swung his blade from low to high, sweeping from the left side of his body to the right, seeking to eviscerate the bandit, but found his sword blocked, by the bandit's club.

'Heh, I've got you now, boy!' Declared the head bandit, before the other bandit, which he hadn't yelled at, dived at Natsu's back.

Natsu felt something telling him to jump, so he quickly broke the weapon stalemate and jumped up, just as the bandit that had tried to attack him from his blind spot, crashed into the leader. Natsu, still in mid-air, breathed in deeply, before giving a mighty roar, aimed at the two downed bandits, enveloping them in a sea of flames, which slowly killed them.

Natsu slowly turned to the last bandit, who had dropped to his knees and bowed his head.

'I'm sorry, please don't kill me! I only did this because I need money for my sister's medicine.' Cried the last bandit in fear, as Natsu approached him.

"His sister… would I do something like this for Zeref if he needed me?' Questioned Natsu.

Natsu nodded his head and walked passed the bandit.

The bandit smirked internally, as he pulled a small dagger from within his robes and lunged at the small boy.

'Die!' Shouted the man, as he lunged at Natsu, getting many to gasp out in fear, before Natsu quickly turned around and thrust his blade through the man's left eye, right into his brain, killing him instantly.

'You are the worst… and to think, I believed you and let you live… it just goes to show, that bandits, are all scum.' Said Natsu, as he pulled his blade out of the man's head, before wiping the blood and brain matter off his sword, on the deceased man's cloak, before sheathing it.

'Young man.' Said a wizened old man, who hobbled over to Natsu with the help of a wooden walking stick.

'Hmm, what's up old man?' Asked Natsu cheerfully, catching some of the crowd off guard, at the sudden shift in personality.

'Young man, on behalf of this village, I offer you my most sincere thanks. These bandits have been terrorising our village, for almost eighteen months now.' Said the old man, who was bald and only had a thin white moustache, and was clad in a simple, white robe.

'Oh, no worries gramps. I mean, I felt it was my fault, after all, I wasn't joking when I said I killed those two scouts. They were being really mean to my first friend, Kagura, over there, and I couldn't let that slide.' Said Natsu, as he pointed to Kagura, getting many to look at her, causing her to blush from the sudden attention.

'But the real thing that really annoyed me, was they said they were doing all those bad things just because they could, not because they were hungry or anything.' Said Natsu with a frown.

'Sadly, that is just how some people are my boy. Their hearts are full of evil and have no sense of compassion, or right and wrong.' Commented the old man sagely.

'Yeah, sorry about all the trouble though, I mean, if I didn't kill those scouts, they wouldn't have come and hurt you guys.' Said Natsu, as he walked over to the girl the head bandit had hit.

I'm sorry pretty lady, if it wasn't for me, those guys never would have hurt you.' Said Natsu, as he bowed.

Natsu was surprised when he felt the lady raise his head and crouch down to his level, before hugging him.

'It isn't your fault. Those people were reckless and cruel, and this isn't the first time they've tried something like this.' Said the lady, before she stood back up.

'So you're not mad?' Asked Natsu shyly, as he looked to the side.

'Of course not, in fact, I should be thanking you, just as the Village Elder was.' Said the lady in a warm tone, which caused Natsu to give a toothy grin.

'My boy, is there anything we can do to repay you?' Questioned the Village Elder, as he walked over to Natsu once again.

Natsu was going to decline politely, before his stomach grumbled, so loud, that everyone, in the small crowd that had gathered when the bandits arrived, heard it.

'Well, I'm pretty hungry, you got any food you can spare?' Asked Natsu with a chuckle.

 _-line break-_

It was a few weeks later, that a certain Guild Master, heard the news of a small child, easily killing off a small group of bandits, using nothing but a sword and fire magic, which he apparently claimed, was Dragon Slaying Magic.

'Hmm, Ultear, I have heard some interesting news recently.' Said an old man, with a long white beard and an eye patch.

Kneeling in front of the man, was a small girl in a purple singlet, with her long, dark purple hair, tied up in twin-tails.

'It seems, that a boy, who apparently, single-handedly killed a group of bandits, using only a sword and fire magic, is roaming Fiore.' Said the man.

The small girl, named Ultear, merely kept her head bowed, waiting for the man to go on.

'I want you to find him. His magic is apparently Dragon Slaying Magic, however, what interests me, is his drive and ability to kill so mercilessly, if my report is to be believed, and show no remorse for it. Find him, and see if you can persuade him to our cause. You need not kill him if he refuses, however, do warn him strongly, to not mention anything about Grimoire Heart.' Said the man.

'Yes, Master Hades.' Answered Ultear, as she looked up at the leader, of one of the strongest Dark Guilds in existence. 


	3. Whole

**Well, if you are wondering about the wait for chapters, that is because I've decided to do at least one fairly long (5K+) chapter for each of my stories, before going back to shorter, more rapid updates. This is because some of my stories have gone months without updates, so, I figure a good, big one, to kick things back into gear, is needed.**

 **Once again, I'll be brief, but please support me on , so I don't need to take a hiatus for anywhere between 1 and 5 years. It is seriously worrying, because just this week, I had to fork out $300 dollars for blood tests and a first aid course… and the course hasn't even started yet. The link to my page, as well as a more in-depth explanation, is on my profile page.**

 **Additionally, I'm considering adding one more person to this story, since this is the one she would fit in best and is also super rare… which, if you are up to date with the manga, should make things very obvious for who it is.**

 **Aside from that, enjoy the chapter.  
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.**

Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Fairy Tail anime/manga. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.

'Talking'

"Thinking"

*expression*

 _Flashback_  
 _  
_' **Dragon or E.N.D. talking'**

" **Dragon or E.N.D. thinking"**

 **Techniques**

Chapter 3 – Whole

'Do you really have to go already, Natsu?' Asked Kagura, as she stood on the outskirts of the village, opposite her new friend.

'Well, I promised I'd be back soon didn't I? I just want to go and check this place out, then I'll come right back.' Explained Natsu.

Kagura looked down bashfully at this.

'I know, but I'll miss you.' Muttered Kagura, unaware that Natsu's enhanced senses picked up what she said.

'Alright, how about this, I'll get you a present as well, as long as you promise to give me a smile.' Said Natsu cheerfully.

Kagura looked up at Natsu and tentatively smiled.

'Alright, in that case, I'll see you soon Kagura, with a present as well.' Said Natsu, before he started to walk off.

"Please come back soon." Thought Kagura, as her smile became a sad one.

 _-line break-_

'Ugh, it is going to take a while to get to Fairy Tail… I really wish I could fly.' Said Natsu, as he looked up at the sky, staring at the clouds.

 **'Who says you can't?' Whispered a voice.**

'Who said that?' Asked Natsu, as he looked around.

 **'Guess again, I'm even closer than you think.' Said the voice.**

Natsu looked around his surroundings closely and noticed nothing out of place. Natsu then started looking at himself and patted down his clothes, until finally coming to rest on his sword.

 **'Bingo, but truthfully, I'm not really the sword, I'm just using it to talk to you.' Said the voice, apparently speaking through Natsu's sword.**

'Um… don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think swords are meant to talk.' Said Natsu, as he raised the sword to eye-level.

 **'Well like I said, I'm not actually the sword, I'm you and also, not you, at the same time.' Said the voice.**

'So… I'm a sword?' Asked Natsu in confusion, to which he swore he heard the voice sigh.

 **'Did you notice anything strange when you cut down those bandits? Did you notice things you didn't know how to do popped into your head, or a sudden tingling at the back of your head warning you of something?' Questioned the voice.**

'Hmm, now that you mention it, I did feel something like that… it also felt a bit weird, like I was doing things without really doing them… or something.' Said Natsu thoughtfully.

 **'That was because of me.' Confirmed the voice.**

'So what are you exactly then?' Asked Natsu.

 **'Both you and not you, as I said, but we can talk more later.' Said the voice, before going quiet.**

'That was… weird.' Said Natsu, before putting the sword back on his hip.

 **"Oh Igneel, it looks like I'll be back sooner than ever." Thought the voice.**

'Talking to yourself, yes it is weird.' Agreed a new voice, causing Natsu to sigh.

'Oh man, what is it now? My scarf? My shoes? Why are random things talking to me today?' Groaned Natsu.

'Guess again.' Said the voice, before a small girl in a purple singlet, emerged from behind a tree.

'Who are you? Actually, before that, you're not a sword right? You're a person, aren't you?' Asked Natsu curiously.

"Is this really the person Master Hades wanted me to recruit?" Thought Ultear in disbelief.

'Yes, I am a person, albeit a much more intelligent one than you.' Quipped Ultear.

'Really? What makes you say that? I bet I know tons of stuff you don't.' Retorted Natsu.

'I doubt anything you know is that interesting.' Scoffed Ultear.

Unknown to Natsu, the voice in his head didn't appreciate the repeated insults to his intelligence, and decided to nudge Natsu into action.

'In that case, kneel before me.' Said Natsu darkly.

Ultear scoffed, before finding her legs were obeying Natsu's command, causing her eyes to widen.

'You see little girl, I don't appreciate your insults, in fact, should you do it again, I may order you to do something else, for instance, take your own life.' Said Natsu, with a sick smirk.

"This kid… what is he?" Questioned Ultear, before finding her body free once again.

Natsu blinked for a minute, before grabbing his sword and raising it to eye level again.

'Was that you again?' Asked Natsu, only to get no response.

'Look lady, I'm not interested in swapping insults with you, I have better things to do.' Said Natsu, before walking past Ultear and continuing on the path.

"Perhaps some observation would be more beneficial… this boy is clearly not normal." Thought Ultear.

Natsu had continued walking until the sun had started to set, before rubbing his eyes and giving a small yawn.

'Hey, lady, stop following me! Besides, I'm going to sleep now, so just go away and come back in the morning!' Shouted Natsu, having smelt and heard the girl following him for the past few hours.

"What kind of idiot tells a possible enemy they are going to sleep?" Questioned Ultear in disbelief.

'Or, I could simply order you to leave me alone.' Added Natsu darkly.

"I guess someone who can order people around, tells their enemies when they are going to sleep." Thought Ultear, in apprehension of being forced to do something against her will again.

Natsu found a somewhat comfortable rock to sleep under, shading him from the dying rays of the sun.

Ultear watched as the boy quickly fell asleep. As she waited, wondering if now would be a good time to take him, multiple thorns shot out of the ground from around him and encased him in a dome. Ultear simply walked up to the dome and tried to age the thorns with her magic, only to find it ineffective, shocking her.

'What is this, that it can resist my magic?' Muttered Ultear, resting a hand against the thorns, only to feel them thrumming with a power, which was unfamiliar to her.

"I suppose I will just come back in the morning then… I didn't even give him the offer yet." Grumbled Ultear, before leaving the currently enclosed Natsu.

 _-line break-_

'Huh, what is this?' Thought Natsu, as he floated in a dark void.

 **'Your potential. Just like this void, it is endless.' Said the same voice Natsu had placed, as coming from his sword.**

'Oh, it's you again. What do you mean my potential?' Asked Natsu to thin air.

 **'Well, you know how you said you wanted to be as strong as Igneel?' Questioned the voice.**

'Yeah… do you mean this is as strong as Igneel?' Asked Natsu curiously.

 **'Of course not, you can be even stronger than Igneel.' Said the voice, surprising Natsu.**

'No way! I can be stronger than Igneel?' Questioned Natsu in surprise.

 **'Yes, in fact, with my help, you can be stronger than Igneel right now.' Tempted the voice.**

'How?' Asked Natsu, narrowing his eyes slightly.

 **'Well, the truth is, I'm not actually your sword. Like I said, I'm only using it to talk to you. The truth is, when I said I am both a part of you and not a part of you, has to do with the fact that once upon a time, we were in fact one person. Certain events occurred afterwards that split the two of us. That is why I use the sword to communicate with you, because it contains the part of me that was split from you.' Explained the voice.**

'But wait a minute. If you're a sword that belonged to Zeref's brother, but you held a part of me inside you… does that mean Zeref's brother was the one who split us apart?' Asked Natsu curiously.

 **'So close, but just wrong, guess again. Here, I'll give you a hint, I'm part of Zeref's brother as well.' Said the voice in amusement.**

'… but that doesn't make sense… that means I'm Zeref's brother, but I can't be, since you were Zeref's brother's sword and I've never seen you before in my life, before Zeref gave you to me.' Said a puzzled Natsu.

 **'Actually, that is because you just don't remember some things. You are right, you are Zeref's brother, both new and old. Didn't you find it odd that his name was Zeref Dragneel and that he happened to know your name was Natsu Dragneel? That is because you two are biological siblings.' Explained the voice.**

'I don't get it though… that doesn't make sense… how can I be Zeref's brother, who did all of that stuff in the past, if I'm only about eight years old?' Asked Natsu.

 **'Actually, you and by that extension, we, are about four hundred years old.' Said the voice.**

'Four hundred! But I'm so small!' Protested Natsu.

 **'Like I said, certain events occurred that split us, which had the side effect of turning you back into an infant.' Said the voice.**

'Wait, how do I know this isn't all some kind of joke, or hallucination… or maybe that lady did something?' Questioned a sceptical Natsu.

 **'Please, that girl wouldn't have been able to touch us if we were whole. As for a hallucination or joke… nope. This is the truth and nothing about it is even remotely untrue. If you need proof, I can easily get you some. There is a certain place which would assuage all of your doubts. However, if you simply allow you and I to merge into one being once again, you will know everything I do too and know I only speak the truth.' Propositioned the voice.**

'Why should I? I'm trusting an invisible voice after all.' Said Natsu sourly.

 **'I look the same as you, well, along with a few additions.' Added the voice.**

'Okay, let's say I believe you… how is this going to work?' Asked Natsu.

 **'Well, to begin with, it will be as though two minds are sharing the same body, but over time, we would integrate back into the mind we once held, however, it would be somewhat different, as both our personalities have changed over time. It would be our old mind, but with a new twist more or less.' Explained the voice.  
**  
Natsu mulled his options over in silence. I mean, don't get him wrong, Natsu wanted to be strong. The idea that he could be even stronger than Igneel was amazing, especially now that he had a friend to fight for and had seen just how bad some people could be… but did he really want to take a risk and trust an unknown voice in his head.

 **'Listen Natsu, I understand you are apprehensive about this. When we were whole, you were very shrewd, but also an excellent judge of character. For this reason, just ask yourself this. If you can't trust me, can't you trust Zeref, your brother and the one who gave me to you? Do you think it was by accident that Zeref told you about Curses and his life? Did you think it was merely coincidence that Zeref recognised you? Don't you wonder why Zeref told you so much about his brother and when regaling you with moments of his life, he gazed at you almost nostalgically? You and I are one Natsu, you just need to accept it.' Persisted the voice.**

Natsu floated in silence for a moment, before clenching his fist.

'Ok, I'll trust you. If this turns out to be a trick though, I will burn you right out of my body. I don't know how, but I'll do it.' Warned Natsu.

 **'Have no fear Natsu, this is for the best and I'm not deceiving you. With this, you will become everything you ever wanted.' Said the voice, before a figure started to form in front of Natsu's very eyes.**

The figure possessed the same hair as Natsu, but nestled within that hair, were two short, golden horns, which curved upwards.

'What are you?' Asked Natsu in surprise.

 **'I am you, Etherious Natsu Dragneel, otherwise known as E.N.D. and now, we will rise again.' Said E.N.D., as his body started to dissolve into a golden light and surround Natsu, before suddenly entering his being.**

 _-line break-_

Ultear jumped, as a golden light burst through the heavens. Standing just outside the view of Natsu, she quickly stepped forward and saw the dome of thorns gone, replaced by a singular column of golden light.

"What happened?" Thought Ultear in shock, feeling an ominous power coming from the light.

 _-line break-_

Zeref looked back, tilting his head upwards. He noticed it, the golden spire of light. He realised what it meant, but now, he wonder what Natsu would do.

"Natsu… E.N.D…. what will become of his fate now… and what of mine… I suppose we will see. I do hope it wasn't a mistake to imbue Natsu's book into that sword, but now, I can only wait and see who I will eventually come face to face with, Natsu or E.N.D…. only time will tell now." Thought Zeref, before turning around and continuing to search for an isolated place to wait. To wait, for when he will meet his brother for a second time, this time, with his old memories intact.

 _-line break-_

As the light faded, Natsu examined himself.

"Nothing changed." Thought Natsu.

 **'Of course not. You only accepted me back, I told you, it would take time for us to become one once again. Right now, we are still separate, but now, we can both access the mind of the other. You can now see for yourself the truth.' Said E.N.D..  
**  
Natsu concentrated for a moment, before wings sprouted out of his back. They were thin, curved, black wings, with pointed tips. Natsu scrunched his face up in concentration again, before his wings flapped and launched him high into the air.

 **'You see, this is only a small part of what you are capable of. We were a being of unimaginable power and this isn't even the tip of your powers. There is so much more still buried within us. Now, you only need time to bring it to the surface.' Explained E.N.D..**

"Well, considering that one flap was all it took…" Thought Natsu, before turning towards where he knew Magnolia was and gave a strong flap of his wings, launching him flying away and leaving velocity rings in his wake.

Ultear gaped in shock.

"I must tell Master Hades about this… this isn't normal." Thought Ultear in shock.

 _-line break-_

'Geez, did you hear about what happened last night?' Asked a middle aged blond haired man, to his similarly blond haired friend.

'You mean that light? Yeah, I actually saw it. It was only there for like ten seconds, but man was it huge, you could see it from everywhere.' Answered the other blond haired man.

At that moment, a small boy walked past the two men and smirked.

"It was that noticeable huh? To be seen even in Magnolia…" Thought Natsu, as he made his way to a building with a large fairy symbol.

Natsu opened the door and looked around for a moment, before raising an eyebrow.

The Fairy Tail that Zeref described to him was one of hardened warriors with immense magical potential… not a guild of drunken frivolity.

'Oho, hello there young man, what are you doing here?' Asked an elderly man, overflowing with magical power.

His appearance however was rather odd, consisting of a blue jacket over a yellow robe, with green trim and wrapped up with a blue belt. He also wore pointed brown shoes and an oddly shaped brown hat.

'This is Fairy Tail, correct?' Asked Natsu calmly, as his eyes continued to survey his surroundings.

'Ah, that it is my boy. I'm the master, Makarov Dreyar, have you come to join?' Asked Makarov curiously, drawing the gazes of a few members to Natsu.

'Well… I came to join Fairy Tail, the Fairy Tail that under Master Tactician Mavis, was one of the most powerful guilds in Ishgar… but this looks like a simple bar filled with drunks and weaklings.' Said Natsu calmly.

There was utter silence at Natsu's words and many looked at him in disdain.

'Ho? A bar filled with drunks and weaklings? My boy, you couldn't be any more wrong.' Said Makarov calmly.

'In this entire building there are only a handful of mages worth anything, you being one of them… although, a handful is disappointing to me after I was told of a guild full of strong mages, mages I might befriend, mages who might challenge me in battle, mages I could rely on when things get tough… no offense, but I wouldn't trust this guild to guard my clothes… probably sell them for alcohol.' Said Natsu in boredom.

'I believe you have misread this guild. Fairy Tail is all those things and more, a guild that has no limits to its potential.' Said Makarov.

Natsu took a moment to glance across the guild hall, before turning back to the old man.

'No offense, but I think you're looking through rose tinted glasses, if a group of bandits raided this place, at least half of them would die.' Retorted Natsu.

'Just who are you to decide that we would live or die if we were attacked by bandits? You do not decide the worth of a person.' Questioned a scarlet haired girl, who emerged from the crowd and walked up to Natsu.

'Hmm, so that was you I smelt.' Said Natsu appraisingly.

'Excuse me?' Questioned the confused girl.

'The two of you are the only ones who I can smell any blood on. The Guild Master I can understand, but a little girl… that's interesting.' Said Natsu.

'Little girl? Erza's probably older than you.' Interjected a dark haired boy only clad in boxers.

'On the contrary, I'm the oldest and strongest in this guild right now.' Said Natsu, only for some of the guild members to start laughing.

'Quite weaklings.' Said Natsu, as he flared some of his power, quieting them down.

'Just who do you think you are? Coming in here and belittling everyone. I will not stand for it and challenge you to a fight.' Said Erza, pointing at Natsu with her sword.

Natsu merely tilted the sword out of his face, with the back of his index finger.

'Is that really what you want?' Asked Natsu.

'I will not allow someone to besmirch the name of this guild.' Declared Erza.

'From what I can see, this guild is being besmirched by the people in it, but if you feel that I've offended you, I'll take you up on that offer and even add to that. A wager, should you beat me, I will take back everything I've said today and apologise to everyone here.' Suggested Natsu.

'And if you win?' Asked Erza coldly.

'When I win, you will tell me why you smell like blood.' Said Natsu.

Natsu didn't notice it before, but having her sword in his face and her arm outstretched, Natsu noticed her tremble slightly at the mention of her smelling like blood. It was barely noticeable, but Natsu spotted it this time.

'Very well then, let us take this outside.' Said Erza, with Natsu following her and the rest of the guild trailing behind them.

The two made their way behind the guild, to a small dusty training area. There was nothing for at least three metres in every direction, making it an excellent spot, for a potentially destructive battle.

'Now, would you like to decide the extent of the battle? First blood perhaps?' Asked Natsu.

'Until the other yields.' Said Erza, causing Natsu to grin.

'I'm getting fired up.' Grinned Natsu.

The two both stared off at each other, before Erza was engulfed in a glow.

'Heaven Wheels Armour.' Declared Erza, before she was clad in a silver armour with a feather-like motif. Multiple swords floated around Erza's head, menacingly… but not to Natsu.

'What is the point of so many swords?' Asked Natsu blankly.

'Heh, bet the kid is intimidated.' Said a guild member, from the watching crowd.

Natsu turned to start at the guild member who spoke.

'Intimidated?' Said Natsu, before slashing his sheathed sword in an arc, while still staring down the guild member.

'Hardly.' Finished Natsu, as all of Erza's floating swords crumbled, shocking both her and the guild.

'How did you do that?' Asked Erza in shock.

'…you're not a very good sword wielder are you? A sword is not simply a weapon, it is an extension of one's self.' Chided Natsu.

 **'Heh, literally in our case.' Added E.N.D. in amusement, enjoying the fight so far.**

' **Requip**.' Said Erza, before being engulfed in a glow once again, before being revealed in a new set of armour, this one, red, orange and black with numerous flame and dragon motifs.

'Hmm, I have to say, I like this new outfit of yours.' Said Natsu, eying the large sword Erza held, which was mostly dark red in colour, with the exception of a small sliver of black in the middle, and bore orange decorations on its hand guard.

'Then eat this.' Said Erza, before swinging her sword and launching a ball of fire at Natsu.

Everyone watched as the flame neared Natsu and grew more and more confused when he started to grin while make no move to dodge.

As the fireball hit Natsu and exploded, some members looked on in shock.

'That kid is bloody stupid, why didn't he dodge?' Asked another guild member, only for a strange sound to be heard, reminiscent to slurping.

Erza watched in shock as her attacked landed a direct hit, but was even more surprised when it started to disappear into nothingness.

Eventually, the flames destination was revealed, Natsu's gaping maw.

'Because Erza cleared said "eat this", so I did.' Said Natsu, with a smirk, looking at the other guild member who spoke.

Makarov and another mage widened their eyes at this, while both thought the same thing.

"Is he a Dragon Slayer as well?" Both Dreyars thought.

'Now, since I've given you a turn to attack, allow me to return the favour.' Said Natsu, before his feet were engulfed in flames and he kicked off the ground.

Erza braced herself for the oncoming attack, but couldn't prepare for the immense force that struck her blade, launching her back. Erza crashed into a tree and cried out in pain, before feeling something hard press against her chest.

'Dead. You lose.' Said Natsu, holding his sheathed blade against Erza.

'What, with a sheathed sword?' Questioned Erza.

Natsu tilted his head to the right before swiftly moving his blade away from Erza's chest and smashed it through the tree behind her, right next to her face.

'Yes.' Repeated Natsu, before turning around and walking off, placing his sword back on his hip while doing so.

'This isn't over!' Shouted Erza, before charging at Natsu's back.

Natsu gave a small sigh, before turning around and in the space of an instant, slamming Erza into the ground with a flaming fist, right into her gut, causing her to cough out blood.

'Yes, it is.' Said Natsu, before walking off again.

'I had such high hopes for Fairy Tail, especially after all the stories I heard from the true creator of this guild… but you disappoint me, Fairy Tail.' Said Natsu.

'What do you mean, stories you heard from the true creator of the guild?' Asked Makarov suspiciously.

'Mavis Vermillion may be the figure head of this guild, but the one who taught her one of its most iconic moves, that which became known as Fairy Law, is the true creator of Fairy Tail and it was he who told me to come here. Imagine my disappointment, when the stories I heard, didn't match up with the real thing.' Answered Natsu.

'Who is this person, who you believe created Fairy Tail?' Asked Makarov.

'I do not merely believe it, in fact, go downstairs and ask her.' Said Natsu, only for Makarov to raise his magic level tremendously, causing everyone to step away from him.

'Who are you and how do you know that?' Roared Makarov, as he grew in size.

'Me? That is simple, I am Natsu Dragneel, brother of the true creator of Fairy Tail.' Replied Natsu unfazed, but nevertheless, raised his own magic power accordingly.

'And that would be?' Growled Makarov.

'The very same man who taught Warrod Sequen, Precht Gaebolg, your father Yury Dreyar and even Mavis Vermillion herself their magic.' Said Natsu, before pausing.

'Who?' Pressed Makarov, as he glared at Natsu.

'Zeref. Dragneel.' Said Natsu calmly, before walking off again, leaving a shell-shocked Makarov.

 _-line break-_

 **'You know, that might not have been the best of ideas.' Said E.N.D. calmly.**

'Maybe not, but… what the hell?' Said Natsu in shock.

A rather well-endowed woman, wearing a white cat costume, had drawn Natsu's gaze. What grabbed Natsu's attention though, was her scarlet coloured hair.

'What sort of magic did you mess with to travel back in time, Erza?' Said Natsu, to the woman, who froze and turned to face Natsu almost robotically.

'N-N-N-Natsu… uh, whatever do you mean? I can't travel back in time.' Denied the girl.

'You do realise, I'm actually still older than you now, even if you came from the future, so trying to fool me is foolish in itself.' Said Natsu calmly.

'I-I-I don't know what you are talking about.' Spluttered Erza in denial.

'Look, why you are back in the past doesn't really matter to me, just be sure you get back to your actual time, or you will be stuck here.' Said Natsu, before walking off.

'Actually, I want to ask you something.' Said Natsu, as he stopped walking away and turned back to Erza.

'Since I won't be coming back for a while and I did win out fight, explain to me why you smelt of blood.' Said Natsu, which caused the more mature Erza to sigh.

'Well, since you already helped me through it, I suppose you deserve to know… and this would explain how you know about this in the first place without me ever telling you about it.' Said Erza tiredly.

Natsu walked over to Erza and looked up at her expectantly.

'I'm listening.' Said Natsu simply.

'A few years ago from now, I was a slave in something called the Tower of Heaven, otherwise known as…' Started Erza, only for Natsu to interject.

'The R system designed by Zeref, right?' Supplied Natsu, only for Erza to nod.

'Yes. We were forced to build the tower to revive Zeref.' Said Erza, with a nod, only to get a scoff from Natsu.

'Despite the fact that only a month ago, a living, breathing Zeref, was talking with me.' Said Natsu, in something close to disappointment.

'They were foolish zealots anyway. However, one day, a few of us tried to escape. We were caught and one of us was punished.' Said Erza sadly.

'Let me guess, you were the one punished?' Asked Natsu, only to get a nod from Erza.

'Yes, they took one of my eyes, my right one. This one was an artificial one, crafted for me by Porlyusica, the medical advisor of Fairy Tail.' Said Erza, with a smile, gesturing to her right eye.

'Was?' Questioned Natsu, with a raised eyebrow.

'Yes, was. Someone restored my original eye for me six years from now.' Said Erza fondly.

'I see.' Said Natsu.

'In any case, after that, we rebelled against out captors and fought for freedom, of course, during that fight, some lives were taken.' Said Erza sadly.

Natsu didn't respond however he did purse his lips slightly.

'In any case, that is why I smelt of blood and no doubt still do.' Explained Erza.

'I see.' Repeated Natsu, before turning around again.

'Oh and I just realised something, but six years from now, you will meet a girl named Lucy. If you help her reach Fairy Tail, I'd be very thankful.' Said Erza, causing Natsu to stop again.

'In exchange, can I ask you a question?' Asked Natsu, looking over his shoulder at Erza.

'By all means.' Acquiesced Erza.

'Do you improve as a sword wielder?' Asked Natsu.

'I'm renown throughout Fiore as one of the greatest.' Answered Erza.

'I see.' Said Natsu, before turning around again.

'I should also point out, that you don't only smell like blood.' Said Natsu.

'You've mentioned that before.' Said Erza, with a small smirk.

'I guess this means I'll have to keep coming back to Fairy Tail every now and again, if you and I are that close…mate.' Said Natsu, before walking off again.

 _-line break-_

 **'You know something interesting, your scent coming from Erza was mixed with that of a few others.' Said E.N.D. teasingly.**

"I realised, Kagura I could have understood… but that weird stalker too? Along with a few other scents I've yet to encounter… at least the future won't be dull." Thought Natsu.

Natsu was walking through the forest of Magnolia, when he felt something drop down right on top of him, which he reflexively caught.

"An egg?" Thought Natsu in confusion.

 **'Hmm, I wonder what will hatch, I've never seen an egg like this before.' Commented E.N.D. in curiosity.**

"Whoa, you mean in four hundred years you've never seen an egg like this before? Cool." Thought Natsu in awe.

Natsu suddenly grew wings again and flapped, soaring high into the sky. Natsu flapped them again and shot off, heading back to Kagura's village.

"Although, I will need to make one quick stop before we get there." Thought Natsu, remembering he promised Kagura a gift.

 **'Heh, don't you forget it, Natsu Dragneel, Etherious or not, never breaks a promise.' Said E.N.D. smugly.**

"It wasn't a promise though? I only promised to be back soon, not the present." Retorted Natsu.

 **'I was trying to say something cool…' Said E.N.D. in annoyance.**

"Don't you realise who we are? We are cool, we don't need to say anything to make us look cool." Commented Natsu.

 **'You know, that's even cooler than what I said, what the hell, let's go with that.' Cheered E.N.D. with a smirk.**

"Of course I'm cool, I'm Natsu Dragneel." Declared Natsu, before picking up speed.

 _-line break-_

Kagura was once again, waiting outside the village outskirts. Just like yesterday, Kagura headed out to the outskirts, to wait for fifteen minutes for Natsu, before heading back into the village. It had barely been two days at this point, but Kagura already missed him. The villagers had all become much friendlier and nicer to her after Natsu had saved them, but none of them were actually friends of hers, merely friendly neighbours and acquaintances. Natsu was still her only real friend.

Kagura waited and waited, until the fifteen minutes had passed, before sighing.

'I guess not today either.' Said Kagura, as she turned around to head back to the village.

'Guess again.' Said Natsu.

Kagura frantically looked around, but couldn't see Natsu anywhere. Kagura dropped her head, thinking she was hearing things now, only to feel a hand on her head, which made her look up, right into the grinning visage of Natsu Dragneel.

'Hey Kagura, told you I'd be back soon.' Grinned Natsu, as he floated in mid-air, upside-down.

'N-Natsu… how are you flying?' Asked Kagura in shock.

'Magic.' Said Natsu simply, as his grin widened, before giving a small flip and dropping down in front of her, while simultaneously causing his wings to disappear.

It was then Kagura noticed the very large egg in Natsu's hands.

'Where did you find an egg that size?' Asked Kagura in shock.

'Magnolia.' Said Natsu simply, before setting the egg down gently in front of him.

'Although, that isn't all I picked up. After all, I did tell you I'd get you a present, so here it is.' Said Natsu, as he pulled out a plain, white ribbon.

'I know it isn't anything really special, but after you told me how you had one before, but lost it afterwards, I figured I'd get you one.' Said Natsu, with a smile.

Kagura looked at the ribbon, then back to Natsu, before tentatively taking it from him. Kagura smiled as she tied it into her hair, forming a bow, pointing upwards, just as she had once upon a time.

'Thank you, Natsu. I really appreciate it.' Said Kagura, before a cracking sound was heard, coming from the egg in between the two.

As the egg broke away and a glow ascended from it, both looked up, as a small blue furred creature was revealed, flapping two tiny wings to stay in the air. The creature floated onto Natsu's head and nestled there, content.

'What are you going to name it?' Asked Kagura curiously.

Natsu looked at Kagura and noticed her smile, before giving one of his own.

'His name, will be Happy.' Said Natsu, to which the newly christened Happy, gave a soft aye in agreement.

 **Now, I know that Happy was already hatched/born during the events of Memory Days, but I tweaked things a little for a better birth scene. If anything, just blame it on time ripple distortions because of them using the Memory Days book, if you want a good explanation. An alternative, poor explanation is… this is fanfiction and I'm "Unleashing my imagination"…**

 **Mostly though, I just can't leave Happy out of any of my stories. The guy is a goldmine of potential, but hardly anyone uses him.**

 **I won't make a full Kyuubi's Corner out of this, but Happy is one of the most versatile supporting characters in Fairy Tail. He can basically set off any pairing with a few embarrassing words and is full of excellent one-liners. I mean, an entirely serious moment in the Tartaros arc and then Mira mentions that Elfman and Lisanna will be okay against the Lamy clones because they have Jet, Droy and Warren to help and then, we get the pure gold, that is Happy asking if it is smart to place that much worth on them… PURE GOLD. How people can just leave Happy out of stories I will never know.**

 **Also, as a manga side note, even more potential for a Natsu/Erza pairing… but we know it won't happen… *sigh*… alright, you know what, I said I wouldn't make a Kyuubi's Corner out of things, so I'll make this brief, but, Natsu and Erza, I think, is by far the best and most underrated pairing that could have come out of Fairy Tail, canon wise.**

 **I mean, first few episodes, challenge scene, Natsu is the only one not completely terrified of Erza.  
Trial/Jail scene, Natsu is the only one who goes after Erza and spends the night with Erza in jail, all because he didn't want her to be unfairly blamed.  
Phantom Lord, Erza believes in Natsu and that he will be the one to surpass her.  
The entire Tower of Heaven arc, but especially when they try to stop the explosion of energy. Natsu saving Erza here and their words afterwards, is one of the biggest points for Natsu/Erza.  
Erza trusts Natsu to beat Laxus during the Battle of FT arc.  
Natsu desperately searches for Wendy to help Erza. Not to mention how Natsu tears into Jellal.  
Sadly, after this, the Erza/Jellal ship set sail and Natsu/Erza started to drop off into obscurity, but we still had occasions.  
For instance, the scene taken out of the anime, the bathing scene from the manga during the Sun Village arc.  
Of course, a few other things here and there, but point being, Natsu/Erza has slowly been moved away from, sadly.**

 **…You know what, this is basically a Kyuubi's Corner already, so I'll just add a little bit more to things. Erza is the only woman who can actually handle Natsu. It is ridiculous to think anyone else can… well, maybe Mira as well. No one else can really sway Natsu that much. Also, Happy deserves just as much character exposure as everyone else, if not just for his comedic wit, then also for the fact that if both the other FT exceeds can do something big now, so can he. I'm honestly hoping Mashima gives Happy a big boon sometime soon, so people will finally respect the king of Aye Sir…**

 **In any case, I'll most likely update Memories Of The Rain next in my Fairy Tail queue, but I'm going to switch to DxD for a bit now and maybe DBZ, Pokémon and/or Naruto. I think DBZ has the best chance after DxD, because Super is really keeping my attention and I like how things are going so far… only wish they somehow bring back Gohan's badass attitude from the Cell Games, or hell, even Mystic Gohan. You can't really top "Fight you? No. I wanna kill you!" Although, "Take him down now? No, I think I'll wait. I'm going to let him suffer for a little while." is pretty awesome too… ah, Gohan had so much potential.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked the chapter and see you all next update.  
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.**


	4. Introductions

**Well, I had quite the productive week. It was my Easter break this week, so I spent the entire week catching up on sleep, eating a lot of food and of course, writing a lot. In fact, in about 6 days I got out almost 20K words.**

 **Have to say though, I wasn't expecting the anime to go on a break, so that was pretty disappointing. At least the manga is still coming out weekly…**

 **Also, I added a few things to my and given the 20K words I wrote over the week, is already up there, now is a great time to become a part of it.**

 **Hmm, that's actually all I had to say, so I hope you all enjoyed your Easter break and I hope you enjoy the chapter.  
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.**

Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Fairy Tail anime/manga. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.

'Talking'

"Thinking"

*expression*

 _Flashback_  
 _  
_' **Dragon or E.N.D. talking'**

" **Dragon or E.N.D. thinking"**

 **Techniques**

Chapter 4 – Introductions

A few years had passed by now. Natsu had started to train Kagura in using a sword and Happy had even started learning how to use a tiny dagger, which he kept hidden for the most part, in a green bag he kept tied to his back. The dagger was very sharp, but Happy used it more for cutting and cleaning his fish, than for actual combat. As for Fairy Tail, Natsu had gone back every few months. For the most part, he simply waited for Erza to challenge him to a fight, before beating her and heading off on his way. That being said, the first time Natsu had come back, he had quite a few interesting encounters.

 _-line break-_

 _Flashback_

 _-line break-_

Natsu had just defeated Erza for the second time. Since he was attuned to fire, Erza had decided on using a water based armour, her Sea Empress Armour, she called it. Natsu simply stared at her when she donned it, in disbelief.

"That flimsy thing was most certainly not armour." Thought Natsu in surprise.

 **'Ah, give it time, you'll come to like it later on.' Said E.N.D. knowingly.**

'Natsu, I don't suppose you would be willing to come and see something with me?' Asked Makarov calmly, walking over to Natsu and gaining his attention.

'M-master, we aren't finished here yet though.' Protested Erza weakly, causing Natsu to look back at her.

'Erza, know when you are beaten. There is nothing wrong with wanting to fight to your full extent, but trying to beat someone, who is obviously stronger than you, in a direct confrontation, is stupid.' Said Natsu tiredly.

'My friends make me strong.' Refuted Erza.

'Funny, I only have one friend, but I'm still stronger than you, guess that idea is disproven. You can fight for your friends if you want Erza, there's nothing wrong with that, but don't neglect your training because of some foolish notion, that having friends will make you strong. That's how people end up dead.' Finished Natsu, before turning to Makarov.

'Okay, where do you want to go?' Asked Natsu.

'My office will do.' Said Makarov, before leading Natsu into the guild.

Natsu looked around, at the surrounding Fairy Tail mages, in apathy. He could tell most of them were simple weaklings, no doubt lulled into a false sense of security, in being part of a renowned guild like Fairy Tail.

Natsu clicked his tongue in annoyance. There were about a dozen mages in the guild worth anything and most of them were kids. Natsu briefly locked eyes with a certain blond though. Out of everyone else here, aside from Erza, for obvious reasons, the blond had gained his attention. It had nothing to do with the fact that he was the grandson of Makarov, but rather, due to the feel Natsu got from his magic. Breaking eye contact with the mage, Natsu smirked to himself.

"Maybe Erza won't be the only reason I bother coming back to this place in the future." Thought Natsu.

Climbing the stairs to the second floor, Makarov led Natsu to his office, before closing the door behind him and seating himself behind the desk placed in the room. Natsu raised an eyebrow at this, before falling in line and sitting in the seat across from Makarov.

'So, what is it you want me to see?' Asked Natsu curiously.

Makarov looked to his right for a moment.

'Do you not see it now?' Asked Makarov expectantly.

'I see nothing unusual, but I feel something strange.' Said Natsu simply.

Makarov sighed at this, glancing to the right once again, before giving a nod and turning back to Natsu.

'Natsu, would you like to join Fairy Tail?' Asked Makarov, confusing Natsu.

'Um… why?' Asked Natsu, tilting his head to the right.

'In order to see what I want to show you, you need to be a member of Fairy Tail.' Explained Makarov.

'I see… if I join, do I have to do anything?' Asked Natsu.

'At the bare minimum, respect my authority as Guild Master.' Said Makarov tiredly.

'Hmm… that's sounds… reasonable.' Said Natsu slowly, before narrowing his eyes.

'Why do you want me to join though? What is this thing you want me to see, that is so important?' Asked Natsu suspiciously.

'There is someone here, right now, who would like to speak to you.' Said Makarov.

'Oh… ohhhh, now I think I get it. Okay, I'm in.' Said Natsu, with a grin.

Makarov looked at Natsu strangely. Giving one last glance to his right, he pulled out a stamp from a desk drawer.

'I need to give you the mark of Fairy Tail, for you to become an official member of the guild. It needs to be somewhere on your body though. Where would you like it?' Asked Makarov, holding out a wooden stamp, with the symbol of a fairy on it.

'Hmm, my body you say…' Hummed Natsu, before grasping his sword.

'I'm sure this will work fine.' Said Natsu.

Makarov looked at Natsu, with a raised eyebrow.

'What colour?' Asked Makarov.

'Hmm, red works.' Said Natsu, after a moment of thought.

Makarov looked at Natsu searchingly, before giving a small amused huff. As he made to lower the stamp Natsu told him to wait, before unsheathing the sword, exposing the pitch black blade to the diminutive man.

'A black blade.' Commented Makarov in surprise.

'What were you expecting? Bright pink?' Chuckled Natsu.

Makarov gave a small laugh, before pressing the stamp on the blade for a moment, before raising it, revealing a red Fairy Tail symbol.

'So I was right… hi Mavis, how's being frozen in time, as well as simultaneously being an illusion?' Chirped Natsu, finally seeing what Makarov had kept glancing at to his right.

It was a young girl with very long blonde hair, wearing frilly white and pink clothing. Mavis Vermilion, one of the founders of Fairy Tail and the First Master.

'Who are you exactly?' Asked Mavis calmly, her green eyes boring into Natsu's black.

'Exactly who I said I was. Natsu. Dragneel. The brother of Zeref Dragneel. Is there something about that you find suspicious?' Asked Natsu.

'Yes. Zeref never spoke of a brother and was adamant on anyone being near him, being at risk. Do you expect me to believe he could have had a brother survive for so long?' Asked Mavis.

'Hey, everything we say here, stays in this room, right?' Asked Natsu curiously, switching over between Mavis and Makarov who both nodded, albeit Makarov hesitated until Mavis nodded.

'Well, as it turns out, I've already died once.' Said Natsu, surprising Mavis and getting a confused look from Makarov.

'Unfortunately, he won't be able to bring you back the same way he brought me back. After all, bringing me back was what started that little curse of his. You know the one, I'm sure.' Said Natsu knowingly.

Mavis fixed Natsu with a calculating gaze, taking in everything he just said and weighing it all up in her mind.

'Why are you here?' Asked Mavis, with narrowed eyes.

'Because he told me to.' Answered Natsu simply.

'Why though? Why listen to him?' Asked Mavis.

Natsu's form shifted uncomfortably. Makarov watched his unease in curiosity, while Mavis was analysing every minute detail, from his slightly strained expression, right down to the imperceptive tightening of his left thumb.

'Is it so wrong to want to listen to my family? I had a family with him once. I lost that. I had a family with Igneel. I lost that too… is it really that bad that I want to try and regain what I once had?' Asked Natsu, with an empty voice.

Makarov seemed sympathetic, but Mavis still held a stern look.

'Is that the truth?' Asked Mavis.

'Well, for the most part. Although, I don't want a weak family. Weakness is no good.' Said Natsu, regaining his slightly impassive tone.

'And if Zeref was weak, would you still consider him family?' Asked Mavis.

'That doesn't make sense. Zeref is strong and he is my family. Igneel was also my family and he was also strong. I don't have a weak family.' Said Natsu, with narrowed eyes.

'You are quite confused for a child. Quite lost already in fact.' Said Mavis, with a hint of sadness.

'I'm actually older than you and you don't look much older than me. What are you, twelve?' Retorted Natsu bitingly.

'I'm thirteen actually and how old are you?' Huffed Mavis.

'Think of your actual age, now triple it. I'm older than that even. I'm only a little younger than my big brother after all. It was really funny, the stories he told me about you. Dark Mage Mavis.' Snickered Natsu.

Mavis pouted childishly, while Natsu simply snickered to himself.

"It's like two kids trying to one up each other." Thought Makarov in bemusement, a stupefied expression on his face.

'Well, I'm off for now I think.' Said Natsu, before unsheathing his blade.

Natsu looked at the blade for a minute, before flames engulfed the blade, burning away the Fairy Tail symbol.

'Not to be rude or anything, but just chatting with a ghost isn't a good enough reason for me to join this place. This may be the guild that Zeref helped create and I might join it in time, but it will be on my own terms.' Said Natsu calmly, putting his sword back on his hip as Mavis' form faded from his vision.

As Natsu exited Makarov's office and made his way back downstairs, he noticed the irritated glances he got from some in the guild. Natsu paid them no mind, surveying the entire guild with a cool glare, before honing in on Erza once again. As he made to approach her though, a girl stood in his way.

'Hey, who do you think you are, waltzing in here like you own the place?' Asked a white haired girl, in gothic attire.

'I think I am one of the few people who actually has any right to be here. Let me ask you one thing though, who are you to speak to me?' Asked Natsu calmly.

'I'm the girl who will kick your ass. Red might be unable to beat you in a sword fight, but I bet I can take you on in a fist fight.' Said the girl, cracking her knuckles ominously.

The entire guild had slowly quietened down, as the confrontation got underway and was dead silent, by the time Mira had finished her declaration. Natsu tilted his head to the right slightly, observing the girl. She didn't look too impressive. Her frame was rather thin and her magical power, while high for her age, was hardly anything for him to worry about.

'Um, are you confused?' Asked Natsu.

'Confused about what?' Asked the girl.

'You claim you can beat me, but both your body and magical power, are weaker than mine… so I'll ask you again, are you confused? Is this some elaborate prank?' Asked Natsu again.

'Watch what you say twerp, or I'll knock your teeth out!' Growled the girl.

'Hmm, I'll pass.' Said Natsu, walking away from the girl, heading for the door.

'Oi, who said you could walk away from me?' Growled the irate mage.

Natsu paused, before turning to face her again.

'I'm sorry, I don't recall needing your permission for anything. Besides, if you are anything like… red did you say? Then you won't be able to beat me either.' Said Natsu, sparing a quick glance to the still exhausted swordswoman.

'I have a real family I fight for, not just this guild.' Said the girl calmly.

'Well good for you. I just don't care.' Said Natsu, before continuing to walk away.

Natsu had just reached the doors, when he felt a fist nearing the back of his head. Tilting his head to the right, Natsu let the fist fly over him, before gripping the offending wrist tightly and swinging the girl over his head, slamming her into the door and using her body to shatter it. The girl weakly coughed and spluttered from within the dust, having taken quite a bit of damage from the swing.

'Are you happy now? All you've done is make a fool of yourself and caused me to break a door.' Questioned Natsu.

'Screw… you.' Muttered the girl.

Natsu squatted down, still gripping the girl by her wrist.

'What's your name?' Asked Natsu.

'Mirajane Strauss.' Said the girl fiercely.

'I see… well, Mirajane Strauss, if you ever want help controlling your demons, I'd be happy to help, it isn't often I get to see many of my own kind… but for now, good night.' Said Natsu cheerily.

Mira's eyes widened at Natsu's words, before he sunk his fist in her gut, causing her eyes to strain at their sockets, before slowly closing, as she drifted off into unconsciousness. Natsu raised her into the air by her wrist, despite his small stature and slung her over his shoulder. Natsu looked around and quickly noticed two, worried looking, white haired children. Natsu made his way towards them. They looked quite apprehensive as he approached them.

'Hi, sorry about that, but your sister was being a little pushy, so I had to stop her somehow. Make sure to look after her though, but she shouldn't be out for more than a few hours.' Said Natsu amicably, placing Mira down at their feet, before heading for the door again.

'Thank you.' Said the younger girl happily.

Natsu stopped for a moment, a puzzled expression on his face, before shaking his head and walking off.

"Thank you? For what?" Thought Natsu in confusion.

 **'Maybe for not demolishing that girl, when it would have been an easy task.' Said E.N.D. calmly.**

"Yeah, I don't think so." Thought Natsu, causing E.N.D. to shrug his shoulders.

Natsu had just made his way outside Magnolia, only for the same blond he had locked eyes with earlier, to be standing there, arms crossed, almost as if he was waiting for him. Natsu stood there, staring back at the blond, who gazed back curiously.

'Is there something you want?' Asked Natsu curiously.

The blond uncrossed his arms and walked towards Natsu, stopping only a metre away from him.

'Are you a Dragon Slayer?' Asked the teenager.

'Are you?' Asked Natsu, with a cheeky grin.

The blond scoffed in amusement, before walking away from Natsu, back towards Magnolia. Natsu just grinned at his retreating back, before heading off again.

 **'Well that was a bit of a letdown.' Commented E.N.D. in disappointment.**

"Why, I think we both got our point across?" Replied Natsu.

 _-line break-_

Natsu slowly made his way back towards the same village Happy had been born in, only for someone garbed in a long black cloak, to be standing in his way, just as the village came into view over the horizon.

'What is this, talk to Natsu day or something?' Grumbled Natsu, seeing yet another person wanting to talk to him.

'You're still just as weird as you were the first time.' Muttered the girl, not expecting Natsu to hear.

'You're just as dumb, insulting me again, did you forget about what happened last time?' Asked Natsu in annoyance.

Ultear bit her tongue, to stop the retort that was begging to be released. Hades had been intrigued with the boy initially, but, after Ultear had retold the events of her first meeting with him, he had been even more intrigued. Unfortunately for Ultear, this had made him even more disappointed, when Ultear had failed to even get him to consider meeting with him.

'Well, do you mind getting to the point? I don't have all day and I have better things to do, than talk with my apparent stalker.' Said Natsu in boredom.

Ultear gnashed her teeth slightly, before calming down. Walking closer to Natsu, she removed her hood, revealing her dark hair and eyes to him.

'I am Ultear Milkovich, a member of Grimoire Heart, a guild. My master would like to speak with you.' Said Ultear calmly.

'Is that it? Why didn't you just say that last time?' Asked Natsu in confusion.

Ultear's right eye twitched in annoyance.

'Well, why not then.' Said Natsu, with a yawn, surprising Ultear.

'W-what? You're agreeing just like that?' Questioned Ultear in shock.

'Sure, why not? I'm not doing anything interesting right now. Come on, let's go.' Said Natsu.

'Hold on, I need to wait for the airship to come pick me up. I didn't expect you to agree this easily.' Confessed Ultear.

'I see… in that case, do you spend a lot of time on this airship?' Asked Natsu curiously.

'A reasonable amount of time, yeah.' Said Ultear in confusion.

'All right. Just do one more thing for me: don't scream.' Said Natsu, with a grin, unnerving Ultear, who quickly gathered her magic power, in preparation for an attack.

In the blink of an eye, Natsu vanished, worrying Ultear, due to the fact that as soon as he had vanished, he somehow appeared right behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist.

'Oh and you might throw up after this.' Said Natsu teasingly, before Ultear's world warped.

One minute, Ultear was staring at the setting sun, the next, she was slammed through a mass of wood, jarring her roughly. Ultear felt herself set down and prepared to attack Natsu, only for an amused huff to get her attention.

'After what happened last time, I wasn't expecting such a fast response.' Said Hades in amusement.

Ultear turned around, only to notice that she was in front of Hades, Natsu beside her. A few seconds after that, she noticed the airship had a rather sizeable hole in it and almost instinctively fixed it with her magic.

'Hmm, you look a lot older than he described, but I guess not everyone can have eternal youth or be frozen in time like Mavis.' Said Natsu thoughtfully, rubbing his chin in thought.

'Who exactly is he and how do you know of me?' Asked Hades carefully, stroking his long white beard as he did so.

'In reverse order, you're Precht Gaebolg, Second Master of Fairy Tail and the person who told me all of that was Zeref.' Replied Natsu chirpily.

Hades, or rather, Precht, was momentarily speechless.

'You got really old looking though.' Continued Natsu, scratching the side of his face, with his right index finger.

'So, you claim Zeref told you all of this?' Asked Hades curiously.

'I don't claim it, it is a simple fact. Who else knows how you lost your eye against Blue Skull mages?' Asked Natsu, tilting his head to the side.

Hades' left eye widened at this. The amount of people who knew of that, could be counted on one hand. Either the boy was saying the truth, or Warrod must have told him. Hades knew Warrod didn't get involved in magical matters anymore, so it seemed unlikely that he would have told the boy, causing Hades to actually entertain the notion, that Zeref, had in fact told the boy about it.

'You're not having a stroke or something, are you old man? You've been frozen for like a full minute now.' Asked Natsu, snapping Hades out of his musings.

'Ultear, leave us.' Ordered Hades firmly.

Ultear entertained the notion of protesting, wanting to know if the boy really had met Zeref, but the aura coming off Hades made her reconsider. Stiffly bowing her head, Ultear turned and left.

'So… any reason why you wanted to keep things a secret, huh Precht?' Asked Natsu, with a grin.

'Who are you?' Asked Hades.

'I'm Natsu Dragneel, what's it to you?' Answered Natsu cheekily.

'How do you know of Zeref, my eye, Mavis? Did Warrod tell you?' Asked Hades firmly.

'Hmm, tree guy? Nope, never met him. Besides, didn't I just tell you Zeref told me?' Answered Natsu, with a furrowed brow.

'Just why should I believe you?' Asked Hades, calmly, stroking his beard.

'Fine, don't. I'll be off now then.' Said Natsu, causing Hades to splutter at his blatant disrespect.

'Wait!' Shouted Hades, causing Natsu to stop and turn to face him.

'Yes?' Asked Natsu teasingly.

'Would you be interested in joining Grimoire Heart?' Asked Hades.

'Nope.' Said Natsu cheerfully.

'I see… even if I tell you Grimoire Heart's goal is to awaken Zeref's?' Asked Hades, with a raised eyebrow.

'If that's your goal, I'll tell you how to do it right now. One good flick to his ear and he wakes up with a jolt. Anything else you want to add? Maybe you guys are wondering what he eats for breakfast? For the record, nothing. I've never seen him eat anything, which is pretty sad, especially since I love eating.' Said Natsu happily.

Natsu paused for a minute, waiting for Hades to speak, before his wings burst from his back and he tore another hole through the airship, as he shot off back to his original destination. Hades simply stared at the place where Natsu had left, not knowing how to react. On the other side of the wall to Hades' office, Ultear stood there in silence, her mind churning with what Natsu had said. By the end of the day, the two had settled on their goals for the future. Hades was still set on finding Zeref, but Ultear had decided the real goal, was Natsu and resolved to follow up on him in the future.

 _-line break-_

 _End Flashback  
_  
 _-line break-_

Natsu found it odd, how so many people were interested in him because of Zeref. Makarov, Ultear, Mavis and Hades in particular, which is why he didn't like interacting with them as much. Ultear had changed subtly and Natsu found himself at least a little bit interested in her, if she was to become his mate after all, but she still asked too many questions for his liking, while never giving anything away about her own past.

Erza still tried to fight him and Natsu continued to beat her, usually throwing in a line or two about how only fighting for one friends was moronic and nearly suicidal. Laxus, the blond, who was also the grandson of Makarov, never approached him after that, but Natsu would continually feel Laxus' gaze on his back, when he did wander into Fairy Tail. Mira was a unique prospect. For some reason, she had gotten very shy around him and skittish, whenever he would look at her, causing her to either leave, or try and start a guild brawl. Natsu didn't mind terribly. Her anxieties were her own problem and Natsu didn't have to do anything about them.

Overall though, he enjoyed spending time with Kagura the most. Kagura didn't ask for anything of him and was just happy being with him, which also made Natsu happy as well. Happy himself was also turning into quite the joker, frequently teasing Kagura and embarrassing her, much to Natsu's amusement. It didn't help that Natsu had realised Kagura liked him a lot and continued to be largely oblivious to her subtle hints, just to mess with her a bit, which also gave Happy more fuel for his teasing.

The trio were currently training now, Happy on the sidelines filleting some fish, which he quickly ate, one after the other, while watching Natsu and Kagura spar. Natsu easily blocked another swing by Kagura, before pushing her back slightly and giving her time to regroup. Unlike with Erza, Natsu didn't end his fights with Kagura quickly, trying to help her learn through practise, one of his favourite methods. It was also due to the fact, that Natsu wasn't really a teacher and all of his knowledge of sword fighting, came from E.N.D. himself, so he couldn't really teach Kagura anyway.

Kagura proved to be a natural though, easily picking up various nuances in Natsu's style and adopting them into her own, which she was developing. Speaking of developing, Natsu had begun to notice developments of his own, having reached the age of fifteen. Over the past few years, Natsu had become very aware of certain things. In particular, what E.N.D. had pointed out about Erza's armours and their lack of coverage. Before, he had been confused at the armours, which didn't really protect much, now though, he found himself minding less and less, even trying to draw out their spars a few seconds longer. Natsu had also noticed Kagura's growth as well. Kagura had taken to wearing something which Natsu found almost bizarre, given how tight it looked on her… but Natsu never did complain. She wore an elaborate blazer, with gold lining and a large collar, which was open to reveal a collared shirt and red tie underneath. The cuffs of the jacket were tucked into a pair of white, wrist-high gloves. On her legs, Kagura wore a pair of black tights, which were tucked into a pair of knee-high boots and sat under a short white frilled skirt. Kagura also wore the white ribbon Natsu had gotten her, tied at the middle in a bow, pointing straight up. Natsu found it to be overly dressy, but the way it strained on her quickly growing chest, was enough to stall any protests he had.

Blocking one last downward strike from Kagura, Natsu raised his hand, signifying the end of the spar. Interestingly enough, Kagura also used a sheathed sword, like Natsu. Her sword was called Archenemy and took the form of a traditional Japanese longsword. It was completely black, save for a few spots of white at the edge of the scabbard, the tsuba and a few decorative diamonds along the handle. The tsuba was reminiscent to the shape of a four-leafed clover. The blade itself was also mildly rounded and a black decorative rope was tied around the equally black scabbard. The fact that it was a sheathed blade, was what helped Kagura developed her style based on Natsu's own. Kagura had yet to find a reason to unsheathe her sword and hopefully never would, but perhaps that was too optimistic of the world they lived in.

Kagura sat down next to Happy, who was contently munching away at his fish. She grabbed the bottle of water she had placed there and took a deep drink, while Natsu simply watched on. During all of their spars, Natsu always released a bit of his magic, causing Kagura to feel uncomfortable heats. Natsu reasoned she needed to be prepared for all conditions and would need to adapt. Suffice to say, Kagura had quickly adapted after the first few training sessions, after she felt as though she was drowning in her own sweat.

Natsu was proud of Kagura, her growth was immense. While Erza may have had potential, Kagura had skill. She wasn't held back by silly ideas of friendship conquering all and with Natsu being her direct instructor, she had gotten stronger, fast. Even Happy was fairly skilled with his knife, being able to disable a bandit in a minute, by targeting soft spots of the body, like the back of a knee.

'Kagura, I'm really happy with your progress.' Said Natsu, with a smile, which Kagura returned.

'Thank you. It is thanks to your help after all.' Replied Kagura humbly.

'Kagura… you sell yourself too short. You are a great swordswoman, the best I know in fact, I'm sure you'll be able to beat anyone you face in a sword fight and that is not me exaggerating.' Said Natsu, surprising Kagura at how much Natsu was complimenting her.

'…You're going away again, aren't you?' Asked Kagura sadly.

Natsu blinked in surprise at this, before turning to face Kagura, whose face was staring at the ground.

'Uh, er yeah. How'd you know?' Asked Natsu sheepishly.

'Whenever you're about to head off, you always give me extra praise.' Said Kagura unhappily.

Natsu blinked, before realising that Kagura spoke the truth. Every time he was going to head off to visit Fairy Tail, he'd compliment Kagura more after his spars with her. Then he'd leave for a few months.

'Sorry, I didn't realise I was being so obvious.' Admitted Natsu, with a small grin, which quickly faltered, when Kagura didn't match his enthusiasm.

'What's wrong?' Asked Natsu, getting Kagura to look at him.

'Why do you have to keep leaving me behind?' Asked an upset Kagura.

Natsu was lost for words and didn't know how to respond.

'Every time you leave, I always wonder if that will be the last time I see you. You just leave and I have to hope that you'll come back to me. Don't you know how anxious I get? You're still my only friend. If it wasn't for Happy, I'd be alone every time you leave.' Said Kagura despondently.

'I… uh, I never really thought about it like that…' Said Natsu bashfully.

Kagura sighed and looked down again.

'Sorry.' Said Natsu, causing Kagura to look back up at him.

'Do you have to leave me behind again?' Asked Kagura dejectedly.

 **'You know, she does make a good point. Her being your friend and future mate aside, she is a very skilled swordswoman and does have a rather versatile magic at her disposal. It would be good to have company as well, as talking to me, when I am basically you, doesn't really give you much in the way of conversation. Besides, it'd be good for her to see the outside world and apply her skills to practice.' Said E.N.D. giving his opinion.**

Natsu thought about it for a minute, before making his decision.

'Okay then, make sure to rest up tonight, as we will be heading out early tomorrow morning.' Said Natsu happily, getting Kagura to smile.

'We?' Kagura asked hopefully.

'Yep, we, you're coming with me from now on. After all, I need to look out for my best friend.' Said Natsu, purposely drawing an eye twitch from Kagura.

'He likes you.' Teased Happy, getting a small blush from Kagura.

'Of course I do Happy, she's my best friend.' Said Natsu in faux obliviousness, inwardly laughing his ass off, at Kagura's slightly annoyed expression.

Happy snickered as well, having figured out Natsu's game a few months back and had taken to teasing Kagura extra because of it. The poor girl didn't realise her feelings were exceedingly obvious, but then again, Natsu did do a good oblivious idiot act.

 **'I really don't know why you keep this charade going. It is clear she likes you, you like her and you know she will be your mate, why fight it?' Sighed E.N.D. who like Kagura, had grown bored of Natsu's act.**

"Don't worry, I'll stop acting during this trip." Said Natsu, causing E.N.D. to perk up.

 **'You mean you're finally going to do something?' Asked E.N.D. in eagerness.**

"Not as much as you want." Replied Natsu, causing E.N.D. to sigh in disappointment.

"Man, you are way too horny for your own good." Snickered Natsu.

 **"Oh haha, bravo. Making a pun about my horns and my massive sex drive. I'm going to enjoy when we finish merging a few years from now and you get stuck with both of them." Grumbled E.N.D. in irritation.**

"Well, until then I suppose." Thought Natsu, before refocusing on Kagura.

'So, where are we going?' Asked Kagura curiously.

'Hmm, oh, nowhere too special, just someplace called Alvarez.' Said Natsu, giving a fanged grin.


	5. Substance

**Ok, so I've missed a few weekly updates, but these past few weeks have been chaos. First, I had four exams in November, over two weeks, fourteen days exactly. Bad, but not terrible, the terrible part, was me getting a throat infection before the last two, making them hell. My throat was terrible for two and a half weeks and just when I thought I was getting better, my eyes got infected, another week down the drain. Then, I spent the next week waiting for results to come out, to find out if I would need to do another exam for the two I missed around mid-year, due to surgery. Results were delayed by four days. Luckily, I passed everything though and didn't need to do another exam. Then though, I needed to do my immunisation stuff for next year, so I've spent this past week getting blood work done and getting a booster too. Then, lastly, there was all the admin I had to fill out for next year and now finally, FINALLY, I am done.**

 **I am going to write so bloody much now because I've been going stir crazy. I lost three kilos over the past week waiting for results, as I could barely eat from stress and could not be bothered doing anything, nothing was fun, as I had that nagging result wait hanging over my head.**

 **Now though, it is writing time and I've decided, barring possibly one large update for NGOTM, for the next month and a half, yeah, I start back again in January, no rest for the weary, I will be writing short, daily or every other day, updates. Similar to my update length/speed for AMH when I started it, only a little more length and a little less speed.**

 **That being said, I will be putting up a new chapter every day, but I will need time to proofread. My current plan is to write my raw chapters on weekdays, then focus on proofreading for the weekend. This way, I will hopefully be able to put out a nice 10-15K every week, without burning out. That being said, the raws will be up on my pat reon as soon as I finish them. If for no other reason, than to see all my chapters as soon as they are done, I suggest supporting me on my pat reon for the months of December and January, as that will get you the most bang for your buck, or as we say in Med-land, that is the most high-yield time to support me.**

 **Aside from NGOTM, I have no concrete updates planned, I'm just going to wake up… and wait until night-time, since that is my optimal writing time and write for whatever story takes my fancy that day, so there is no telling what will be updated.**

 **Well, that's is all for now, enjoy the chapter and prepare for many more.  
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.**

Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Fairy Tail anime/manga. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.

'Talking'

"Thinking"

*expression*

 _Flashback_  
 _  
_' **Dragon or E.N.D. talking'**

" **Dragon or E.N.D. thinking"**

 **Techniques**

Chapter 5 – Substance

The trio consisting of Natsu, Kagura and Happy had reached the port town of Hargeon. Natsu had informed the two that to get to Alvarez, they would need to take a ship, as Natsu wasn't sure if he could fly all three of them there without getting lost.

 **'You do realise that even if we get lost, you would have to travel the planet multiple times until you actually got tired, right?' Questioned E.N.D. suddenly.**

"What about Kagura and Happy though? I doubt they could handle being blasted by that much wind for so long." Retorted Natsu.

 **'You did the same thing to that Ultear girl.' Pointed out E.N.D. causing Natsu to smirk.**

"That's different, I like Kagura and Happy." Thought Natsu in amusement, successfully silencing his inner voice.

'Ne, what's with that look, Natsu?' Asked Happy, noticing Natsu's smirk.

'Oh nothing, I'm just thinking about how great it's going to be to explore Alvarez.' Said Natsu.

'What exactly is the reason for you wanting to go there anyway? You still haven't told us what we will be doing on this trip.' Interjected Kagura.

'Really? Oh yeah, I didn't.' Muttered Natsu, scratching his chin contemplatively.

'Well, I have a hunch that there is something in Alvarez for me. A certain person that I want to meet again.' Said Natsu, causing Kagura to purse her lips slightly.

'I see.' Said Kagura.

'Yeah, I really hope I can meet him again.' Said Natsu, causing Kagura to relax slightly.

The stoic swordswoman heard snickering to her right and saw Happy holding in his giggles. The glare Kagura sent his way would have caused a lesser man to crumble, but Happy was no mere man, no, he was a cat, as he said, so Kagura's glare did little more than amuse him.

'In any case, let's go find a ship that can get us there.' Said Natsu, choosing to ignore the two and their obvious interaction, which they tried to make discreet.

In no time at all, Natsu found it was nearly impossible to get a ship to take them to Alvarez. After the third person told Natsu this, he asked why, only to learn that Alvarez was not an ally to Fiore and that citizens of Fiore could not actually go there with permission from Alvarez normally. It took the better part of the day, but Natsu finally found someone who would take them at least part of the way there, to Caracole Island, a tourist resort between the two continents.

'Natsu, where did you get the money to pay for this anyway?' Asked Kagura.

'Eh a few jobs here and there. I'm pretty excited though, I've never travelled by boat before.' Said Natsu, before the boat pulled away from the dock, causing Natsu to feel an unpleasant lurching sensation.

'Natsu, are you okay?' Asked Happy, noticing his friend's face turning green.

'Uh, sure am bud…' Said Natsu, struggling to get his words out, before rushing to the side of the boat and emptying his stomach.

 **'Oh yeah, I forgot to warn you about that, didn't? Well, the good news, is that you'll only feel like this occasionally and when we do fuse, it won't affect you much at all.' Said E.N.D. in amusement, even as Natsu dry retched.**

"What is this?" Thought Natsu, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

 **'This, is the joys of motion sickness.' Answered E.N.D..**

Natsu pulled himself over to Kagura and Happy, before slumping down in front of them.

'So apparently I get motion sickness, that's new.' Groaned Natsu.

'How have you never known about this before?' Asked Kagura in disbelief.

'Well, I've never rode on a boat before.' Said Natsu, giving a small groan of discomfort, as a wave crashed against the back of the boat.

Kagura picked up the slumped Natsu under his shoulders and dragged him to a nearby bench, letting him lie down on it.

'Better?' Asked Kagura.

'A bit, the bench could be more comfortable, but I have slept on worse I suppose.' Mumbled Natsu sleepily, his eyes starting to close, only to feel his head lifted up and placed against something soft.

'Better?' Asked Kagura again.

Natsu opened his right eye and looked up at Kagura, before giving a soft smile.

'Much better.' Said Natsu, before drifting off to sleep.

Kagura gave the tiniest of smiles at this, brushing her gloved hand through Natsu's unruly locks, before hearing more snickering. Predictably, it was Happy, but Kagura was too content to care at this point anyway. After seeing Kagura wouldn't rise to his taunting, Happy floated over to Natsu and curled up on his chest.

'Don't worry, I'll bet he knows by now anyway, night.' Yawned Happy, before falling asleep as well.

"I thought so, but I wonder why Natsu won't act on it." Thought Kagura, with a frown, feeling some of her own insecurities start to bubble up inside her.

As if sensing her discomfort, Natsu shifted, one hand coming to rest on Happy's back, while the other grabbed Kagura's gloved hand that was in his hair. Natsu didn't say anything, asleep as he was, but Kagura understood the gesture and felt her worries disappear.

"That's right, Natsu is my closest friend, whatever the reason, I'm sure it is important." Thought Kagura, watching as the town port of Hargeon, seemed to slowly shrink into the horizon.

 _-line break-_

With a small groan, Natsu was roused. Sitting up, Natsu noticed Happy was floating beside Kagura's head and Kagura was looking at him from his left.

'We're here.' Said Kagura, causing Natsu to give a small yawn before sitting up.

'Okay, let's go check this place out then.' Said Natsu, getting a nod from his two companions, before the three walked off the boat.

'Hmm, it's a bit smaller than I was expecting.' Commented Natsu, as he got a good look at the place.

'Well, it is a resort.' Added Kagura.

'Fish.' Drooled Happy, spotting numerous stalls with fish being sold.

'Well, we could get something to eat. That was a long ride and my stomach is pretty empty right now, after that little surprise I got.' Suggested Natsu.

'It is really warm here though.' Said Kagura.

'Really, I didn't notice.' Said Natsu, before steering the group towards a stand, selling Star Mango gelato.

'Well of course you wouldn't, you use fire magic and you're barely wearing anything as is.' Said Kagura, causing Natsu to sigh, as one of their oldest arguments started up again.

'I already told you before, I need my clothes to be loose and breathable, as well as being fireproof. There isn't much that fits that you know. Besides, you're wearing way too much and you know it, that's why I keep releasing so much heat during our fights so you'd get the message.' Grumbled Natsu.

'My clothes are fine.' Retorted Kagura stubbornly.

Ever since Kagura had started wearing her elaborate blazer, Natsu had switched over to his current apparel, a sleeveless, gold trimmed, black waistcoat and white knee length trousers, tied off with black cloth and black sandals. Of course, Natsu still has his scaly, white scarf around his neck and Kagura still wore her white ribbon in her hair, but other than those two remaining the same, both had opted for vastly different looks as they grew up.

'Well if you wore something more breathable, you wouldn't be uncomfortable right now.' Said Natsu.

'Something like that, Natsu?' Asked Happy, pointing to a green haired girl beside them, further down the stand.

She was comfortably eating her gelato, with a small smile on her face. Natsu and Kagura both looked at the girl in disbelief, but for different reasons.

"She's one of them too." Thought Natsu in surprise.

"She's hardly wearing anything at all." Thought Kagura.

'It's rude to stare. I'm just trying to enjoy my Star Mango gelato here.' Commented the green haired girl, turning to face the group.

'Sorry.' Apologised Kagura, turning away from the girl, expecting Natsu to do the same, only for him to keep staring at the girl.

'Who are you?' Asked Natsu.

The girl ignored Natsu and continued eating her gelato, causing Natsu to turn to the stand owner and order some gelato for himself and Kagura.

'Brandish.' Said the girl, once she had finished her gelato and stood up, walking away from the stand.

'Hey, who was that person?' Asked Natsu, to the owner of the stand, a bald, bespectacled man.

'Ah, I suppose you wouldn't know of her, being from Ishgar. That was Lady Brandish, one of the Spriggan Twelve.' Said the man.

'How did you know we're from Ishgar?' Asked Kagura.

'Just a hunch. Not a lot of people from Ishgar come by this way, so the few that do are quite easy to spot. I plan to popularise Star Mango Gelato in Ishgar as well.' Said the man.

'Really, what would that girl think about that?' Asked Natsu, referring to Brandish.

'Lady Brandish wouldn't let something like that stop her. I'm sure if she wanted to, she could get to Ishgar easily.' Said the man.

'You mentioned she was part of some group, Spriggan Twelve I think you said, what's that?' Asked Natsu.

'The Spriggan Twelve are the twelve strongest mages in all of Alvarez. Each one of them has frightening abilities and immense magical power.' Explained the man.

'Interesting… and out of curiosity, how would you get to Alvarez from here?' Asked Natsu.

'You'd have to sail north for an hour or so. There are ferries every day at around noon, so you'll have to wait for tomorrow's one.' Informed the man.

'Okay, thanks for all the information and the gelato, it was really good.' Said Natsu, with a smile, causing the man to beam.

'Natsu, can we go get some fish now?' Pleaded Happy, his mouth already watering from the thought of seafood.

'Sure thing, just as soon as Kagura finishes up.' Said Natsu, noticing Kagura still had some of her gelato left.

'Don't worry about me, I'll catch up with you two in a minute.' Said Kagura.

'Are you sure?' Asked Natsu, to which Kagura nodded.

'Okay. Here, keep the change.' Said Natsu, pulling out a wad of jewels, which he placed on the stand, before standing up, Happy quickly jumping onto his shoulder.

'Fish!' Exclaimed Happy in excitement, causing Natsu to chuckle.

As the two got further away from the stand, Kagura turned to face the stand owner.

'So among the twelve, how strong is she?' Asked Kagura curiously, finishing off her gelato as she waited for an answer.

'Lady Brandish? Well, that's hard to say, since all of them are immensely powerful in different ways… if I had to guess though, somewhere around the middle. She may not be the strongest, but she is most certainly not the weakest either.' Said the stand owner, crossing his arms over his chest in thought.

'I see. Thank you for the gelato.' Said Kagura, before standing up and following after her two companions.

 _-line break-_

It had been an enjoyable day for the trio, as they explored the island, but as the sun started to dip below the horizon, Natsu informed the two of his motives, as they sat near the edge of the island, on a small cliff overlooking the sea.

'You want to fly to Alvarez under the cover of darkness? Why? We aren't going to sabotage them or something… are we?' Asked Kagura in confusion.

'No, I'm just impatient.' Said Natsu.

'Really? So it has nothing to do with you not wanting to ride on another boat?' Asked Happy, paws in front of his mouth, causing Natsu to glare at him, causing him to chuckle.

'No. Besides, it wasn't that bad. No, the real reason I want to go there now, is because I want to follow that Brandish's scent. It is starting to fade, but I can still track it and I want to see just who these Spriggan Twelve are as well.' Revealed Natsu.

'Why the sudden interest?' Asked Kagura.

'These Spriggan Twelve, from the sounds of things, they are immensely powerful… I mean, that girl felt stronger than most Guild Masters we have in Fiore. Considering she isn't even the strongest of them… well, you can't blame for being a little bit intrigued about who could be stronger than that and by how much.' Explained Natsu.

'How did you know she wasn't the strongest?' Asked Kagura.

'I heard you ask.' Said Natsu.

'How, you were nowhere near me when I asked that question?' Asked Kagura, crossing her arms over her chest.

'I have really good hearing, there isn't much that gets past my ears.' Chuckled Natsu.

'Your head seems to be pretty oblivious though.' Whispered Kagura under her breath, only to look up and notice Natsu was staring right at her.

'You heard that, didn't you?' Asked Kagura, a small blush starting to form on her face.

'Hehehe and you said he was the dumb one.' Laughed Happy.

'Yes, I did hear what you said and I've decided to finally tell you the truth, especially since we are technically going into enemy territory and I don't want you to be distracted. Though that being said, what I am about to tell you may serve as an even bigger distraction, so this can go either way.' Said Natsu with a grin, before morphing his features into a serious expression.

'I'm listening.' Said Kagura.

'Okay, to begin with, I wouldn't tell anyone this and I'm only telling you for three reasons. The first reason is you're my first friend and I know you won't think too differently of me, especially considering how we met.' Started Natsu, getting a slow nod from Kagura.

True, seeing a kid about her age mercilessly cut down a man and have another kill himself was not something a prepubescent girl would forget. Over time, Kagura managed to move on from the incident, as she slowly got to know Natsu better and realised he wasn't a deranged psychopath, but she never forgot.

'The second reason is because I know that you like me, as in, like me like me. Yeah, I noticed, but it was fun messing with you for a bit.' Revealed Natsu, causing Kagura to scowl.

'Lastly, I know that I can tell you this… well, because I'm pretty sure I've told you this at some point in the future and you must have taken it well, but that one is complicated. Point being, I'm almost certain you will take this well… eventually.' Finished Natsu, confusing Kagura.

'O-kay, so what is it then?' Asked Kagura, uncrossing her arms and leaning forward slightly.

'Just promise me you'll listen until the end.' Requested Natsu, to which Kagura gave a small nod, causing Natsu to breathe out heavily.

'Okay, to begin with, my name is Natsu Dragneel, but you knew that I'm sure. What you don't know, and what I didn't know until a little while after I met this person myself, is that I have a brother. Now, not only do I have a brother, but he is pretty famous in Fiore as well… well, famous is probably the wrong word to use, more like infamous, even you know of him.' Said Natsu, causing Kagura to narrow her eyes slightly.

'Yeah, I can see you've almost got it, but I'll just say it, my brother is Zeref, Zeref Dragneel, but before you rush to any ideas, just please let me finish.' Said Natsu quickly, seeing anger well up in Kagura's eyes.

'You see, Zeref isn't this person everyone has made him up to be. I mean yeah, he created demons and stuff, I'll come back to that later, but he isn't evil. All of his problems started because of me, but he blames himself for all of them.' Said Natsu, noticing Kagura still looked ready to run at any moment.

A deep sigh escaped Natsu's lips, as he prepared to reveal this next part.

'Zeref saved my life… well, more correctly, he brought me back to life.' Said Natsu, getting Kagura's jaw to drop open in shock.

'You see, when I was a little boy, I had the bad luck of being killed, funnily enough, by a dragon. Zeref tried everything he could to bring me back to life and he succeeded in the end… that's funny, but I'll explain why in a minute… because he played with the magic of life and death though, he was cursed by Ankhseram, giving him the Contradictory Curse. The way this curse works, is that the more a person values life, the more people around them will die, but if a person disregards all life, the curse won't hurt anyone. The problem, was Zeref cared too much for life, so he accidentally killed a lot of people. To try and fix this, Zeref created demons that he thought would be able to kill him, but nearly all of them couldn't do it, except for maybe one. There was no other option for Zeref, so he decided to seclude himself from others, that way, his curse wouldn't hurt anyone. Despite this though, people still tried to find Zeref, with some even believing he was dead and trying to revive him. Those people who tried to kidnap you and destroyed your village, were some of those who think Zeref is dead. That's why I got really annoyed when you told me that, as I had just been with Zeref for the whole year and that meant all those people who were kidnapped, were suffering for no reason, as Zeref wasn't dead to revive.' Said Natsu, only for Kagura to stand up abruptly.

'I just need a minute Natsu, please.' Said Kagura, to which Natsu sighed, before nodding.

Kagura walked off a few metres, still within eyeshot, but not so close to Natsu, that she couldn't be alone with her thoughts.

'Natsu, do you think I could meet this Zeref person? He's like my uncle, isn't he?' Asked Happy innocently, causing Natsu to laugh and pull his friend in for a one-armed hug.

'Maybe buddy, but we'd need to find him first.' Said Natsu.

'Do you think Kagura will be okay?' Asked Happy.

'I hope so buddy.' Muttered Natsu.

 **'Oh please, you have nothing to worry about, you smelt the same thing I did, she's one of your mates and that won't change.' Yawned E.N.D. finding Natsu's worries pointless.**

"Well, maybe I didn't tell her all of this in that future, so what if she freaks out and never wants to see me again?" Thought Natsu nervously.

 **'Just look, she is coming back now.' Said E.N.D. getting Natsu to refocus.**

'Okay, I'm still listening.' Said Kagura, sitting back down in front of Natsu.

'Right, so where was I up to?' Asked Natsu, trying to gather his scattered thoughts.

 **'Up to me.' Supplied E.N.D..**

'Right, so I mentioned Zeref making demons and how there was one that might be able to kill him and I also mentioned that I was dead and he brought me back to life, right?' Reiterated Natsu, getting Kagura to give a stiff nod.

'Okay, well, the reason I don't want to lead you on, even though I know you like me and I like you, is because of that… specifically, that I am the demon Zeref created that can kill him. He couldn't revive me as a human, so he brought me back as a demon, an Etherious, otherwise known as E.N.D. which stands for Etherious Natsu Dragneel. What that means, is I was created for the sole reason to kill Zeref and considering he made me with his own magic, along with my human body, if I do ever kill Zeref, I'm not sure what will happen to me. I don't want to kill him though, he is my brother after all… that's why I want to find him, so I can talk with him and try and change his mind.' Finished Natsu.

There was a long silence between the trio, the only sounds coming from the waves crashing down below them and the occasional cry of a stray bird.

'I understand.' Said Kagura, in a tone that gave nothing away.

'So what do you want to do now?' Asked Natsu, not sure if he wanted the answer or not.

Kagura looked at Natsu for a moment, before standing up, prompting Natsu to do the same. Reluctantly, as though all energy in his body had been sapped away, Natsu pushed himself to his feet, before standing silently across from Kagura. The tension between the two was so thick, that even Happy didn't make a peep. Happy watched on uncertainly, as Kagura's eyes bore into Natsu's, who returned her gaze with a neutral expression.

Kagura slowly reached forward with her right arm, worrying Natsu slightly, expecting an assault of some sort to befall him. While he was assaulted, for lack of a better term, it wasn't the kind Natsu was expecting.

Warm soft lips were being mashed against Natsu's own, utterly shocking him and causing him to freeze in place. It was a short kiss, as Kagura quickly pulled back, still keeping her grip on Natsu's coat, but it was their first.

'I don't want to do anything differently. Nothing has changed… actually, that is a lie, a lot has changed, but the one thing that hasn't, is how I feel about you. Now that I know you feel the same way too… well, I'm not going to let you get away from me. Demon, Dragon, END, Zeref's brother, or Natsu Dragneel, you are still my best and first friend and that won't change unless we are talking about adding boy to that friend. You are the only one I've had for these past few years, well, you and Happy of course, but I'm not going to let you go, understand?' Demanded Kagura.

'O-okay.' Said Natsu, slightly cowed, causing Kagura to smile.

'Good. Now let's go to Alvarez.' Said Kagura.

'You got it. Happy, hold on to Kagura for me and don't let go, got it?' Ordered Natsu.

'Aye sir!' Exclaimed Happy, before flying into Kagura's abdomen and gripping onto her blazer, with Kagura wrapping her arms around him.

'One more thing though, there are a few other things I need to tell you about, but they're just minor details, nothing too important.' Said Natsu, with a nervous chuckle.

 **'Yeah, having multiple mates is not a minor detail.' Commented E.N.D. in boredom.**

"Ah shut up." Retorted Natsu, getting his echo to snort, before he grabbed Kagura, wrapping his arms around her from behind, as his wings popped out.

'Next stop: Alvarez.' Said Natsu, before blasting off into the sky, leaving Caracole Island behind.

 **To round off the chapter, since it has been a long while since I updated, here is an omake I squeezed out briefly when I was procrastinating, during my exam study. It's been up on my pat reon for a while, but now you can all read it too.  
It is purely for humour and in no way supports any of my pairings or story ideas, it is an aspect of the manga (a canon aspect), taken and toyed with for my (and your) amusement.  
Enjoy!  
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.**  
 **Omake  
**  
Having just stopped the clash between Natsu and Gray, Erza was greatly relieved. With the arrival of Juvia, Wendy, Lucy, Happy and Carla, it seemed that everything would be okay now.

'Everyone get down!' Exclaimed Erza.

A massive explosion occurred, sending debris and dust all over the place, causing Erza to shield her eyes.

'It's been far too long Erza.' Commented a woman, who had a shade of hair colour that matched Erza's.

'An acquaintance?' Asked Lucy in confusion, even as she buried Natsu's head into her chest.

'No clue. And you are?' Asked Erza stonily.

'I am you and you are me.' Replied the woman.

'I have no idea what you're talking about.' Retorted Erza, causing the woman to laugh.

The woman suddenly gained a look of surprise, causing Erza to try and capitalise on this and urge her comrades to escape, only for a person to come plummeting down towards them.

'Erza, be careful… ngh.' Said Jellal, looking heavily damaged, before slumping to his knees.

'Jellal!' Exclaimed Erza in surprise, before hearing people slumping to the ground behind her. A quick glance back revealed Juvia and Lucy had also collapsed.

To Erza's confusion though, the Exceeds and Wendy were fine.

'Ugh, who dropped me?' Groaned Natsu, as he was roused to consciousness.

'You tell me, flame brain. This has you written all over it.' Complained Gray, as he pushed himself into a seating position.

'To think, Larcade's magic wouldn't have an effect on any of you.' Commented the other scarlet haired woman, much to Erza's confusion.

'What do you mean, what kind of magic randomly targets some, but not others?' Asked Erza.

'It is by no means random. Larcade's magic targets all who, as he likes to call it "have already tasted the forbidden fruit of pleasure".' Explained the enchantress.

'J-Juvia doesn't understand.' Groaned Juvia, having been roused to consciousness through the actions of the magic.

'To put it another way, those who have had physical relations of a romantic nature, are those who will be affected.' Explained the voluptuous woman in amusement.

The other redhead's mind finally connected the dots.

'So you mean, Juvia, Lucy… even Jellal, they've all… who, when?' Demanded Erza, whirling on her comrades.

'It's not my fault, Loke was really grateful for me saving him and I was still running on a high from confronting the Spirit King.' Explained Lucy, trying to supress her moans and failing.

'Juvia… Juvia was all alone in Phantom Lord without Gajeel… Juvia just wanted to feel wanted.' Revealed Juvia, sending a pleading glance towards Gray.

 _-line break-_

'Gajeel, what's happening?' Asked Levy, as she, along with Gajeel and nearly everyone else around them, had been brought to their knees.

'This is Lord Larcade's magic! It will target anyone who is impure. I knew there was a reason I had stayed a virgin!' Exclaimed one of Zeref's soldiers, causing Levy to glare at Gajeel.

'Something you'd like to explain, Gajeel?' Asked Levy in annoyance.

'Oi, don't talk to me like that, pipsqueak, you're just as bad as me! I beat It was those two fools over there as well.' Retorted Gajeel, gesturing to the duo of Jet and Droy, who were almost knocked out.

'What about you then?' Asked Levy, trying to change the subject.

'You first, since you got all accusatory, which one of those fools, huh?' Growled Gajeel.

'Both of them!' Growled Levy, stunning Gajeel for a moment.

'What? I only ever touched the Rain Woman, but you let both of those fools do that to you?' Exclaimed Gajeel in outrage.

'It hardly counted. Droy was as limp as a poorly watered vine and Jet lived up to his namesake. What about you, aren't you meant to be black steel, shouldn't you have rusted to pieces?' Revealed Levy in irritation.

'I'm not actually made of metal!' Snarled Gajeel.

'What? Why not? That was the whole point of me being interested in someone known as black steel Gajeel. You mean that wasn't about what you could bring to the table?' Asked Levy in disbelief.

'Of course I can! All Slayers can.' Exclaimed Gajeel.

'Fine then! You better show me when this battle is all over and you better not be lying!' Demanded Levy.

'Fine!' Roared Gajeel.

 _-line break-  
_  
'And you… Jellal?' Asked Erza quietly.

'W-well, we were in the Tower of Heaven for almost a decade… it wasn't just me, Millianna was too much for all of us on our own, we needed to team up, it was our only choice.' Said Jellal, gritting his teeth to stay with them.

'I see.' Said Erza, before turning to Gray and Natsu and bringing them to her side, pressing each of them on either side of her bosom.

'If that's the case, the three of us will stick together. I care for Natsu and Gray too much to let you two harlots corrupt them.' Said Erza, turning to look at Juvia and Lucy, who could only moan weakly in protest.

'As for you Jellal… you are a very sick man, taking advantage of Millianna like that.' Said Erza, before leaving with Natsu and Gray.

'Hmm, I never even got to tell her the big news.' Muttered the lone redhead among the remaining group, as her counterpart walked off with her two very, very, in fact, perhaps too; close friends.


End file.
